The new face of Tate Britain

Associated media

Rosalind Ormiston had an advance preview of Tate Britain's new look – the new 'destination' in London

For the past three years Tate Britain,built in 1897 and designed by patron Henry Tate’s favourite architect Sidney R.J. Smith (1858–1913), has been undergoing a stunning transformation. Original architectural features have been restored and new features have been subtly integrated into the older design. New artistic and educational spaces have been added, and the public café has been updated, upgraded and expanded to fit the gallery’s growing number of visitors. Meanwhile, the lower ground floor restaurant has seen its room-surround mural The Expedition in Pursuit of Rare Meats, 1926–7, created by Rex Whistler (1905–44), restored to its original beauty.

The £45 million restoration and refurbishment of Tate Britain has been 95% funded by private philanthropy: from private individuals, private organisations and Tate Members plus aid from independent bodies and the Lottery Fund. This wealth of generosity has helped Tate Britain become a gallery fitting for the 21st century, creating a modern space to welcome visitors.

So what has changed? Architect partnership Caruso St John have transformed the Grade II-starred oldest part of Tate from a rather tired interior space at the Millbank main entrance into a stunning architectural re-interpretation of the original, whilst keeping all the features of the late 19th-century building. For the Rotunda (where information desks used to be), there is now a spectacular spiral staircase, which leads down to the lower ground floor and a new café, plus archive rooms and the refurbished Rex Whistler restaurant. A new educational centre benefits from a dedicated schools reception, and entrance, and located underneath the Millbank Entrance steps.

The most spectacular part of the new scheme is the refurbishment of the Rotunda. Now, as in its original plan, carefully chosen sculptures sit within the surrounding niches. The stunning black and white floor design, made in polished concrete but looking like marble, is based on the pattern of the original floor. The ‘Art Deco’ style staircase leads down to the lower ground floor where the Djanogly Café seats around 250 people. The previously boarded-up windows now flood the room with daylight. Looking up to its vaulted ceiling one sees subtle hand-drawn pencil designs by Alan Johnston: Tactile Geometry (2013), one of three site-specific works commissioned by the Tate. (The others are Richard Wright’s beautiful handmade glass window No Title (2013) in the Millbank Foyer, and Nicole Wermer’s double-headed teaspoons, Manners (2013), in use in the Rex Whistler restaurant and Tate Members café.) At the far end of the Djanogly café, doors lead out to the garden where further seating is arranged.

Not to be missed at this level is The Archive Gallery,which will have regularly changing displays. The first, ‘Paul Noble: Past the Future’, is curated by artist Paul Noble. His choice of 20 works includes Constantin Brancusi’s Head Tête, c.1919–23, Cy Twombly’s The Song of the Border Guard, 1952, Anthony Caro’s Witness,2003–4, and Sarah Lucas’ Swan, 2008.

A design re-think on how best to use the first floor balcony circling the Rotunda’s domed atrium – closed since the 1920s to house the Director’s office, the library and storerooms – has opened up the space to accommodate an elegant café and bar for the use of Tate Members, and the original Grand Saloon to be used as a meeting room for Tate seminars and events. To complement the Rotunda’s central spiral staircase two further spiral staircases lead off the Rotunda entrance upward to the Tate Members/Grand Saloon area.

In the upper circle of the Rotunda a display of sculptures and busts is carefully placed to project the ambience of a private members club. New furniture has been made for this area, which responds to the era when Tate Britain was built. An Edward Lutyens chair, still in production, fits comfortably into its surroundings. Designs for armchairs, sofas and stools – in deep red, green or brown – are loose interpretations of furniture created by E.W. Godwin, Adolf Loos, and C.R. Mackintosh, giving an Arts and Crafts feel to the powerful Edwardian space. A 14-metre long mirrored bar, adds style, and is reminiscent of Édouard Manet’s depiction of A Bar at the Folie-Bergère (1882) (Courtauld Institute of Art).

The new space is an impressive alteration to a much-loved building and fits well with the 2013 re-hang of British art, which director Penelope Curtis has arranged as a chronological walk through art history from 1545 to the present day. And there is more to come but for now the current work by architects Adam Caruso and Peter St John, of Caruso St John, is complete.