Commission for the concept design of new ‘art halls’ to site alongside a renovated Grade I listed castle, housing the nascent National Contemporary Art Gallery for Wales
How do you go about doubling the size of a protected heritage asset? Having achieved this feat in Belgium for The Grand with a contextually sensitive proposal while at David Chipperfield Architects, the Hill Harvey Wood team were tasked with repeating this success in the UK.
Pairing up with Cultural Associates Oxford and a stellar array of consultants we were commissioned in 2022 by the Cyfarthfa Foundation to deliver a vision of how Grade I listed Cyfarthfa Castle could be the anchor site of the National Contemporary Art Gallery for Wales (NCAGW). The project included extensive local engagement with over 30 local community groups and organisations and 300+ residents, including surveys, pop-up events, and workshops with under-represented groups.
Meeting the NCAGW brief requires the Foundation to double the capacity of the catle, which is only partly occupied and in a precarious state, in order to meet the conditions of. We unlocked the potential of the hill-side site by creating an arrival point from the north so that the new gallergy building could not only provide dramatic ‘art halls’ that reinterpret the lost ironworks that once sat in the valley but also creates a balcony on the landscape surveying the castle, park and remains of the furnaces below. Together the new and old buildings provide 12,000m2 fully accessible space that becomes the launcepad for an exploration of art in the park.
The resulting bid to the Welsh Government – one of a six across the country to be shortlisted – is a comprehensive response to a range of criteria including transport infrastructure, architectural and landscape design, business planning and costing, staffing structures, curation, arts programming, narrative and marketing and engagement. The Government remains undecided about how to finance the NCAGW endeavor and Hill Harvey-Wood continues to support the Cyfarthfa Foundation in their ambitions for the site.
External Links
Cyfarthfa Foundation
Cultural Associates Oxford