WHITE CUBE MASONS YARD | Rundell Associates
White Cube Gallery, Masons Yard by Rundell Associates, Realised in 2006
A new build 12,000 sq ft art gallery in a courtyard within the St. James’s conservation area in central London.
The design of the gallery embodies the key qualities of discretion and reserve that characterise the St James’s area of London. The building is discovered on entering Mason’s Yard through one of a number of narrow footpaths and covered alleyways that lead from the surrounding streets. The White Cube’s formal restraint sits in stark contrast to the array of mismatched brick buildings which comprise the perimeter of the courtyard.
At ground level, concrete panels wrap around the base of the structure. Above the concrete, the rendered volume is cut with a series of precise light slots. A glass box extends further above the render. The project required the excavation of an 8 meter deep basement to provide a large underground gallery which receives natural light through a pair of long slots cut into the courtyard paving. On ground level the building has a gallery directly accessed from the courtyard, with offices, private viewing rooms and a roof terrace located on the three upper levels.
The project also included a complete resurfacing of the courtyard’s footpaths and highway. Construction commenced in 2005 and the building was completed in September 2006.
