Kengo Kuma To Design New National Gallery Wing

This week's announcement of the National Gallery selecting a team led by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma for its new wing comes about a year after the museum reopened the Sainsbury Wing, which was designed by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown 35 years ago and recently renovated by Annabelle Selldorf. Selldorf Architects, working with Purcell, was actually one of the five other shortlisted teams competing against the winning team of Kuma with BDP and MICA; the others were Farshid Moussavi Architecture with Piercy & Company, Foster + Partners with Studio Adrien Gardère, Renzo Piano Building Workshop with Adamson Associates, William Matthews Associates, and Studio Seilern Architects.

The seven-member jury* unanimously selected the design by Kengo Kuma and Associates with BDP and MICA, describing it as “both innovative and beautiful, meeting the ambition and sensitivity required for an international gallery commission.” The new wing will be located directly north of the Sainsbury Wing, on a site currently occupied by St. Vincent House, an office and hotel building owned by the National Gallery, situated just one block from Leicester Square. Given this situation, the jury further described the winning design as “respectful of the Sainsbury Wing galleries” and highlighted how “the approach to the public realm and roof garden creates a generous presence, enhanced by trees and greenery.” A new public realm will be created between Trafalgar Square on the north and Leicester Square on the north, linking the two spaces.

Although no renderings of the interior were provided with this week's announcement, the jury comments highlight their character: “The style of the galleries is very simple and clean, with a contrast between the main floor that incorporates vaults and arches, while the upper floor has a more geometric design. As a result, the main floor of galleries presents a continuum with the Sainsbury Wing and North Galleries, but the upper floor has its own style, which adds variety and a change of design pace to the overall scheme.”

The announcement also did not indicate when construction would be anticipated to start or include a targeted completion date for the project, but it did say the project would follow a “bespoke Climate & Social Action Design Framework” and that £375 million has already been raised for Project Domani, which also includes an expansion of the museum's historic collection beyond 1900. The new wing and public realm comprise the largest transformation of the National Gallery since its formation in 1824.

• John Booth – Chair, National Gallery Board of Trustees. Chair of the Jury
• Céline Condorelli – Artist
• Sir Gabriele Finaldi – Director, National Gallery
• Lady Patty Hopkins – Architect, RIBA Gold Medal Winner and National Gallery Trustee (1998-2006)
• Sir John Kingman – Deputy Chair, National Gallery Board of Trustees
• Dame Diane Lees  – Former Director, The Imperial War Museum
• David Marks – Chair, National Gallery Masterplan Committee