Whitechapel Gallery
77-82 Whitechapel High St, London E1 7QX
Images take from WWM website
Cultural context
Cost of Project £13.5 million
- The Gallery has already raised £13 million towards its £13.5 million capital campaign target.
- This includes Heritage Lottery Fund grants totalling £3,722,200;
- London Borough of Tower Hamlets grant of £1,300,000;
- Arts Council England grant of £1,050,000;
- European Regional Development grant of £500,000;
- London Development Agency grant of £350,000;
- £2,749,485 raised from charitable trusts and individual donors;
- and £2.5million from an auction of artworks donated by artists in 2006.
Client’s needs and objectives
- The unification of the Whitechapel Art Gallery with the old Whitechapel Public Library next door
- Permanent Gallery
- Research room
- Education space
- Research tower
Strategic economic & social purpose?
- Previously the Gallery had to close for up to 10 weeks each year to allow for exhibition installations.
- The Gallery’s former Education Studio could not accommodate full class sizes and the overwhelming number of schools wishing to use its facilities.
- Previously there was limited access for disabled people to the Gallery and there was no wheelchair access to the former library.
The development unifies two landmark buildings; the Whitehapel Gallery and the adjoining Passmore Edwards Library. The project has enabled the restoration and preservation of an historically and culturally important building, keeping it open to the public. It also makes an important contribution to the regeneration of east London.
Users and who they are
- Members of the public visiting the gallery
- Students using educations studios
- Schools using the education resources
- Artists in the residence
- Families attending family events and workshops
Time scale and rhythm of use
Time taken to build: 2008 -2009
Gallery opening times
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 11am-6pm |
| Wednesday | 11am-6pm |
| Thursday | 11am-9pm |
| Friday | 11am-6pm |
| Saturday | 11am-6pm |
| Sunday | 11am-6pm |
The Foyle Reading Room
Tuesday – Friday, 11am to 5pm.
Site Location
Image taken for Digimap and edited to show the unification of Whitechapel Art gallery and Old Whitechapel Library
Accommodation
Reuniting of the buildings- Offering flexibility of use as well as contemporary standards of access, the galleries are served by
- A single, unified circulation core, with the lift on the party wall between two buildings and a new stair beside the existing nineteenth century library stair.
- The former ground floor library reading room and first floor museum, used as gallery spaces – for installations and visiting collections respectively – retaining as much as possible of their historic and ‘worn’ character.
- Daylight is introduced into the ground floor gallery by new rooflights and controlled on the first floor through external louvers.
- The new link galleries at first floor level offer glimpses out to the surrounding area, forming small breaks in the light, content and context of the otherwise utterly focused visual theatre.
- A new street front cafe and archive space makes use of existing rooms of character.
- In the upper levels of the library building, new education studios have been created, with a clear span, north-lit studio on the top floor taking advantage of views
Image taken from http://www.hughpearman.com
Phase of work
Technical Requirements
- Fire exist clearly labeled and a strategy for exist marked
- The pitch of the stairs maximum of 42°. Height of handrails 900mm and must have a handrail on at least one side if they are less than 1 meter wide
Procurement
Traditional Contract
ill~architecture 