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National Portrait Gallery Retail Spaces

Alex Cochrane Architects

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Looking towards the main entrance of the Gallery Shop - Alex Cochrane Architects
Looking through the stone portals towards the smaller Gallery Shop - Alex Cochrane Architects
A view looking through the Gallery Shop from the new Main Hall - Alex Cochrane Architects
Looking towards the main entrance of the Gallery Shop - Alex Cochrane Architects

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Comments
Innovation
Functionality
Creativity
Eco-Social Impact
Total
JURY VOTES
Single-Brand Store
7.08
7.53
7.13
6.97
7.18
Dirk Osinga
Dirk Osinga Founder at STUDIOSINGA
Shop interior works well with the a...
8
8
8
8
8
Sontaya Bluangtook
Sontaya Bluangtook Associate Design Director at UNStudio
8
7.5
8
7.75
7.81
Liqun Lin
Liqun Lin Executive Director at Xiamen Wenqu Decoration Design
8
7
7
6
7
Deepak Jawahar
Deepak Jawahar Cofounder at The Architecture Story
7.5
9
8
7.5
8
Farid Ziani
Farid Ziani Partner Architect Designer at KTX archiLAB
6
7.5
6
6.5
6.5
Nicolas Delefosse
Nicolas Delefosse Founder and Creative Director at NDDO
A great balance between the arch sh...
7
7
7
6
6.75
Gilbert Khalil
Gilbert Khalil Director of Design and Technical Services at Sunset Hospitality Group
6
7
6
7
6.5
Lucy Bagshaw
Lucy Bagshaw Project Director at Tp Bennett
7
8
6.5
7
7.13
Giovanni Zaccariello
Giovanni Zaccariello SVP Global Visual Experience  at Coach
8
7
8
6
7.25
Lisa Adams
Lisa Adams Director of CitizenHKS & Sustainable Design Leader at HKS
6.75
7
7
7.5
7.06
Anne-Rachel Schiffmann
Anne-Rachel Schiffmann Director of Interior Architecture at Snøhetta
Peeling back old layers of the buil...
8.5
9
9.25
7.5
8.56
Asif Din
Asif Din Sustainability Director at Perkins&Will
6
8
7
7
7
Baoyu Tian
Baoyu Tian General Manager at Foshan Shengtianjia Lighting Equipment
Transparent...
5.8
6.5
6
6
6.08
Klein Dai
Klein Dai CEO at Algebraist Brand Management
7
7
7
7
7
Jocelyne Sacre
Jocelyne Sacre Design Strategist at Consultant
I love the thoughtful approach to t...
8
9
9
7.75
8.44
Cathy Figueiredo
Cathy Figueiredo Cofounder at Wanna
6
7
6
6
6.25
Dennis Vlietinck
Dennis Vlietinck Head of Design at Wink
8
8
8
7.5
7.88
Bangsheng Yang
Bangsheng Yang Founder at Yang & Associates Group
7.5
7
6.25
7.5
7.06
Woody Yao
Woody Yao Director at Zaha Hadid Design
5.5
6.5
5.5
7
6.13
Client
National Portrait Gallery
Floor area
250 ㎡
Completion
2023
Social Media
Instagram Pinterest
Finishes
Finishes
Finishes
Finishes
Lighting
Furniture

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.