ACA designed three retail spaces as part of a wider transformational redevelopment of the National Portrait Gallery.

The Gallery Shop in the ground floor entrance, and two additional Exhibition Shops, seek to celebrate the impressive scale of the Victorian Neoclassical architecture, while injecting this venerable building with a contemporary spirit.

ACA's meticulously planned design is informed by the rhythm of the soaring arches of the Grade 1 listed building, organising the space around a series of monolithic forms that defy expected retail norms, while presenting the customer with fixtures that are easy to shop from.

The brief was to maximise the retail opportunity for the gallery in a way that would appeal to new audiences while continuing to make loyal visitors feel welcome. ACA's ambition was for the shops to be recognised as destinations that would inspire and delight regardless of whether you were a dedicated art lover or a tourist visiting the gallery.

Our challenge was to develop contemporary solutions within a Grade 1 listed setting that would provide the gallery's retail environments with a unique character. Such designs would also need to be finely detailed and executed to the highest standards using robust materials with sound environmental credentials.

We peeled back the layers of the building discovering historical features that we once again exposed. The previously blocked up widows were re-opened after 70 years ensuring a dynamic relationship with the streetscapes and forecourt below.

We opened the roof light, allowing the original architecture to be expressed. The Portland Stone was carefully restored and the floors re-polished.

ACA designed features that required careful engineering and fabrication. A complex structural framework was required to provide stability to the metallic furniture and our designs were only constructed after many workshops and sample developments with the highly skilled fabricator Opus Magnum.

Oversized fixtures allow the customer to explore a wide range of product at table height. Thin halos of light sketch a bright line around the shelving, echoing the shape of the Victorian stone arches while catching the eye of passers-by from both inside and outside the building. Bright yellow cabinetry beckons to customers to enter the shop, limiting the requirement for extensive signage.

The fixtures, while generous in size, are flexible and modular, allowing the team to change the store layout according to the type of product on display and to re-merchandise easily.

We constructed our non-metallic furniture using Richlite, the durable and sustainable material made using 100% recycled products including paper and resin. We also constructed in Linoleum made from 97% natural materials, 30% recycled and 100% recyclable and compostable. Mindful of the carbon footprint of steel and other metals, we chose Arper for our metallic finishes because of their innovative and low-impact manufacturing processes.