National Portrait Gallery

The colour scheme took a long time to establish, but its character really defines the project. We made a principle of using colour as a way of gently helping people find their way through the space, so the galleries within a certain time period use the same main colour, while also shifting tonally through the spaces within each time grouping. We took inspiration from the Thorvaldsens Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark for this principle, where saturated colours are used for their series of galleries.

The Museum Director Nicholas Cullinan’s main request was to bring light into the building. He also wanted to open up the collection already on display and combine it with the world-class collection of photographs and works on paper. This meant meeting the challenge of controlling and exploiting daylight and integrating it with the highest quality of lighting in the gallery. The key was to design a carefully choreographed light journey that would respond to the content and architecture, and create a new, engaging, balanced and beautiful visitor experience.