The Royal Academy of Arts is to build a linking bridge between its two buildings just off London’s Piccadilly, Burlington House (its home since 1867) and no. 6 Burlington Gardens (acquired in 2001). Work should start in October and the £50m project is due to be completed by 2018, the 250th anniversary of the academy’s foundation.
The gap between the two buildings is only 15 metres, so the scheme may appear simple, but it has been very complicated to create a link which will not interfere unduly with the Royal Academy Schools, which occupy the back of Burlington House. A 2001 scheme designed by Michael Hopkins was later dropped for financial reasons and David Chipperfield was then appointed the architect in 2008. The design and fundraising has taken time since then. As well as the link, Chipperfield’s plan includes the creation of a lecture theatre in Burlington Gardens and new galleries for the academy’s permanent collection and for a third major temporary exhibition space.
The total cost is estimated at £49.8m, with £12.7m pledged by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Other donors include the late Simon Sainsbury’s Monument Trust (£5.9m), the Garfield Weston Foundation (£2.5m), the Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation (£2.5m), the Clore Duffield Foundation (£1m) and the Wolfson Foundation (£1m). Although the academy’s chief executive Charles Saumarez Smith tried raising money in the Gulf, the major donors ended up being those who have long supported the arts in the UK. A further £5m still needs to be raised.
