Image Credit : ©Gareth Gardner
Project Overview
‘Inspiring People’ is the title of the multi-million-pound project to transform London’s National Portrait Gallery, following a three-year redevelopment of the Grade I listed building and involving the redisplay of over 1000 artworks. The project completed in summer 2023.
The building was re-modelled by Jamie Fobert Architects and now boasts a brand-new entrance and four specially-commissioned doors, featuring 45 portraits of women, by artist Tracey Emin. Purcell acted as Heritage Consultants, whilst Nissen Richards Studio were the scheme’s Interpretation Designers, responsible for the redesign of the permanent galleries, including their dynamic new colour scheme, and the permanent exhibition design.
Nissen Richards Studio additionally created setworks for the display of the Collection, as well as information panels and digital screens, plus a new family of showcases and plinths. Nissen Richards Studio and Jamie Fobert Architects had a very fruitful collaboration on the new furniture which inhabits all the galleries.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Interpretation Design Team
Interpretation Designers: Nissen Richards studio
Gallery Lighting designers: Studio ZNA
Audio Visual designers: Ngx
Setworks contractors: Factory Settings
Showcase contractors: Meyvaert
AV contractors: Sysco
Graphic contractors: Displayways
Project Manager (Interpretation Design): Fraser Randall
Wayfinding: Holmes Wood
Branding: Edit Brand Studio
Architecture Team:
Architects: Jamie Fobert Architects
Heritage Consultants: Purcell Architects
Project Brief
Nissen Richards Studio’s role as Interpretation Designer was to approach the Gallery’s many spaces as an integrated design package, whilst also engaging with audiences in multiple ways and considering the totality of the visitor journey. Ensuring pacing and balance within the architectural characteristics of each section, as well as within each time period and individual gallery, often featuring different styles and light levels, was a finely-tuned challenge.
The project included working with the Gallery’s project team to realise the ambition for a complete re-hang of the Gallery’s incredible Collection. This entailed a comprehensive top-to-bottom, chronological re-hang to display works relevant to a wider range of audiences, including bringing out stories about people traditionally under-represented in the Collection and improving the gender balance of artists on show. Set amongst the Gallery’s best-loved paintings was an increased number of light-sensitive works on paper, including photography, dating from 1840 to now.
Project Need
The new entrance sequence includes the addition of a cluster of plinths that greet visitors on arrival like a crowd of sculptures from past and present, whilst a large-scale, dynamic, digital display on the escalator wall marks the beginning of the visitor journey. Throughout the galleries, design display solutions that highlight key portraits and give them new prominence include lightboxes with large-scale photography, integrated digital screens and new vertical display showcases that hold highly light-sensitive works, ensuring an equality of emphasis for these works.
The colour scheme took a long time to establish, but its character really defines the project. Nissen Richards Studio made a principle of using colour as a way of gently helping people find their way through the space, so that the galleries within a certain time period use the same main colour, whilst also shifting tonally through the spaces within each time grouping. At new openings through the spaces, the visitor can see both across time and through a series of different colours in a single enfilade.
The strongest colours were used for the fabric-lined galleries on the third floor, helping visitors navigate and connect these spaces. For example, there are three blues, three reds and three greens used here, as well as a crossing room in a deep red. These are bespoke colours, which feel to be of the period but also work well with the Collection, and were fully tested in situ during the development process.
Design Challenge
On the second floor, the original perimeter windows that had been blocked up for many years were re-opened as part of Jamie Fobert Architects’ vision for the building, so it was important to underscore this change and make sure those rooms felt to be light and fresh spaces. Nissen Richards Studio worked closely with long-term collaborators, lighting designers Studio ZNA, to fine-tune the lighting approach to these galleries.
The Gallery’s exciting new sequence of wall colours – some painted and some, on the third floor, in fabric, using a matt pure wool finish by specialist, Suffolk-based manufacturers Gainsborough – was devised and tested in close consultation with the wider team by Nissen Richards Studio, along with new display furniture, interpretation panels, showcases and plinths.
The concept for the showcase tables was developed by Jamie Fobert Architects and incorporates the chamfered corners of Ewan Christian’s original architecture. These were further developed by Nissen Richards Studio, together with the curators. Extensive accessibility testing took place for these, ensuring the height of the showcases for wheelchair access was correct, whilst the legibility and visibility of shapes, labels and typefaces was fully considered. The setting of the information panels at an angle to enable easy for all was particularly important. A whole set of variations of the showcase table was further developed by Nissen Richards Studio, responding to the content developed by the Gallery.
Sustainability
Sustainability was at the centre of Nissen Richards Studio’s materials selection throughout, and features high-quality, durable materials from brass and marble to paper-based products and natural fibre fabrics, such as wool and cotton.
To ensure lower transport emissions and support regional businesses, Nissen Richards Studio worked closely with many London based specialist trades and suppliers to deliver the project, from Factory Settings Ltd as main contractor to patinated brass specialists Capisco Ltd, based in East London.
The Gallery’s fabric walls were manufactured by silk weavers Gainsborough, based in Suffolk, established in 1903 and now one of the last weaving houses still using traditional machinery and weaving techniques. We selected their natural pure wool fabric and created bespoke colours for the wall linings of the galleries and setwork screens.
For all wall labels, we selected a low impact flexible solution of a paper wrapped card, whilst larger signage features sustainably sourced materials such as Richlite, fabricated from 100% recycled products through a process called WETM (Waste-to-Energy) Technology, employing a closed-loop energy system, where wasted product is recaptured and used as fuel during the drying stage, minimising natural gas usage by 83%.
Display cases are fitted with a casambi unit which allows the lighting to work only when needed, responding to daylight and gallery opening hours. All cases are also fitted with low energy LED lighting.
All gallery paintwork features emulsion paints classed as Trace VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) - the lowest rating currently possible.
Interior Design - Gallery - Exhibition
Open to all international projects this award celebrates innovative and creative building interiors, with consideration given to space creation and planning, furnishings, finishes, aesthetic presentation and functionality. Consideration also given to space allocation, traffic flow, building services, lighting, fixtures, flooring, colours, furnishings and surface finishes.
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