The Westminster Council approved the project to convert the classic 1805 warehouse building into the Serpentine Sackler Gallery. It will become a kind of branch of the famous Serpentine Gallery and will be located opposite, on the opposite bank of the Serpentine Pond.
The warehouse building, where the gunpowder was stored in case of "foreign invasion or popular uprising", has been empty for the last 50 years and has fallen into disrepair, so the reconstruction should revive not only it, but also the adjacent section of the park. Both are protected by law as architectural monuments, so the adaptation will be carried out very carefully.
Hadid designed a translucent membrane canopy to the west of the warehouse's main façade: its curvilinear shape and emphasized lightness form a dialogue with the old Doric portico. The canopy will be used as a cafe and space for lectures and other social events. A modest new wing will be added from the rear facade of the warehouse; Zaha Hadid will not be involved in it. In total, the area of the gallery will be 900 m2.
The area adjacent to the warehouse will receive a "hilly" landscape design by the Gross Max bureau, but it will not touch the historical elements of the park.
N. F.
