Tate Liverpool has released the designs for its “once-in-a-generation renewal”, a £29.7m project to reimagine the gallery and “become an art museum fit for the 21st century”.
The art gallery at the Royal Albert Dock, which opened in 1988, will close in October 2023 for the refurbishment. It is scheduled to reopen in 2025.
The designs by 6a architects show a new public ‘Art Hall’ and events space on the ground floor. A new exhibition space, also on the ground floor, will showcase works that can be seen from the dockside.
As seen in the designs, the museum’s façade will be opened up to increase its visibility on the waterfront. Additionally, the project will add new gallery spaces over three floors.
“We are proud to be the UK’s most visited modern art gallery outside London but, after 35 years, we want to do more to engage new audiences and to reduce the gallery’s impact on the environment,” said Helen Legg, Tate Liverpool’s director.
“Through this once-in-a-generation renewal of Tate Liverpool we will become an art museum fit for the 21st century, serving the needs of artists and audiences, now and into the future while continuing to play our part in the ongoing evolution of the historic waterfront.”
“Art museum fit for the 21st century”
Larger contemporary works, which were previously impossible to put on view at Tate Liverpool, will be housed in new double-height galleries.
Per a statement from Tate Liverpool, environmental standards and thermal performance will be “significantly improved”. New services will replace fossil fuel with renewables and natural ventilation will ensure better energy performance.
The refurbishment “is a landmark project of reuse and so much of what we need now to reimagine the gallery is already there”, added Stephanie Macdonald, founding director at 6a architects.
The project, Macdonald said, will “make the life of Tate Liverpool and its visitors visible to all along the waterfront”.
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said the regeneration “will breathe new life into the gallery, open up access to its collection and improve the visitor experience“.
Funding for the renewal has come from the government’s Levelling Up and estates maintenance funds, and from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
Images: 6a architects
