Stuart Shave Modern Art London Gallery Architect, Eastcastle St architecture design

Stuart Shave Modern Art

Eastcastle Street Building, Gallery in London, southeast England design by David Kohn Architects, UK

Location: Eastcastle St, west London, England

Modern Art, Contemporary art gallery, London
Date built: 2008
Design: David Kohn Architects

photo : Ioana Marinescu

6 Nov 2009

Stuart Shave Modern Art London

Eastcastle Street, with its generous ground floor showrooms and proximity to Oxford Street’s shops, was once the centre of London’s ragtrade. In the last few years the area has undergone a shift in identity with the departure of clothing manufacturers to the Far East, and the arrival of several East End art galleries. Stuart Shave Modern Art was the first gallery to open on Vyner Street in Bethnal Green which has since become the centre of the East End art scene. His arrival in the West End marks the beginning of a new phase in the gallery’s development, reinforced by the success of artist Nigel Cooke’s opening show, “The New Accursed Art Club”.

The new gallery occupies the ground floor and basement of a modest 1950’s office building. The design approach was to exploit the positive attributes of the existing building and urban context to the gallery’s advantage. Grey engineering brick piers in the new shopfront create a precise and suitably proportioned base to the brick clad structure above while the optically clear flush glazing accentuates the first gallery’s connection to the street. The layout of the interior is more like a house than a showroom, with a deep entrance loggia, lobby and changes of direction at the entrance to each room, that heighten the gradual sense of calm and remove from the street.

Whilst the galleries are firmly in the tradition of the “white cube”, the client’s characteristic informality steered the design. The office space is within the gallery, removing the familiar separation of the public and private sides of the art business; oak floors and off-white wall linings ensure that the white hanging walls are framed within an interior architecture concerned with comfort as well as appearances.

Stuart Shave Modern Art images / information from David Kohn Architects

David Kohn Architects

Stuart Shave Modern Art – contemporary art gallery in London

Address: 23-25 Eastcastle St, London, W1W 8DF, UK.

Contact Stuart Shave Modern Art: 020 7299 7950

David Kohn Architects

Location: 23-25 Eastcastle St, London, W1W 8DF, southeast England, United Kingdom.

London, England, UK