The Hepworth Wakefield gallery designed by David Chipperfield Architects opens to the public this Saturday.

With 10 naturally-lit exhibition rooms, the gallery in Yorkshire is the largest purpose-built space for art in the UK and will display over 40 works by sculptor Barbara Hepworth (1903-1975), who lived locally.

The building is composed of a grouping of trapezoidal blocks and also contains learning studios, an auditorium, an archive, and a café and shop.

The gallery is accessed via a new pedestrian bridge across the River Calder, next to which the building is situated.

Photography is by Iwan Bann.

See all of our stories about David Chipperfield on Dezeen »

Below is the full press release:

The Hepworth Wakefield confirms Yorkshire as a centre for sculpture

The Hepworth Wakefield, designed by David Chipperfield Architects, opens to the public on Saturday 21 May 2011, putting the spotlight on Yorkshire as a world centre for sculpture, together with Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Henry Moore Institute and Leeds Art Gallery.

Named after Barbara Hepworth, who was born in Wakefield in 1903 and lived there with her family until the age of 18, with 5,000 square metres of gallery space, The Hepworth Wakefield is the largest purpose-built art gallery to open in Britain since the Hayward on London’s Southbank in 1968, and provides a permanent public legacy for the artist in her home city.

The gallery site has been developed at a cost of £35 million as part of the £100 million regeneration of Waterfront Wakefield. It includes the restoration of former mill and warehouse buildings, the development of new residential, office and leisure facilities, and outdoor landscaping with a new pedestrian bridge. The gallery is funded by founding partners Wakefield Council and The Hepworth Estate; major funders Arts Council England and Heritage Lottery Fund with additional funding from European Regional Development Fund, Homes and Communities Agency and Yorkshire Forward.

The highlight of The Hepworth Wakefield’s permanent collection is a group of over forty works given by her family that provides a unique insight into Barbara Hepworth’s working methods and creativity. The Hepworth Family Gift, donated through a special scheme facilitated by the Art Fund, comprises a unique collection of prototypes and models in plaster, aluminium and wood, from which casts were made in bronze or aluminium at the foundry. The majority are original plasters on which Hepworth worked with her own hands. Shown alongside the plasters will be tools and materials from Hepworth’s studio. The installation, spread over two dedicated gallery spaces, includes the full-size prototype made by Hepworth of perhaps one of her best- known sculptures, Winged Figure, commissioned for the John Lewis Partnership building in Oxford Street London and installed in 1963.

The Hepworth Wakefield has forged partnerships with the nation’s leading arts organisations including Tate, the Arts Council Collection and the British Council, to secure a programme of key loans that put the focus on Wakefield and Yorkshire as a centre for modern and contemporary art. The opening displays include works such as Danaïde by Constantin Brancusi c. 1918 and Composition C (No.III) with Red, Yellow and Blue by Piet Mondrian, 1935 from the Tate; The Snowstorm: Spiral Motif in Black and White by Victor Pasmore, 1950-51 from the Arts Council Collection; 1935 (white relief) by Ben Nicholson from the British Council Collection and J.M.W. Turner’s Wakefield Bridge (c.1798) from the British Museum.

The city’s own collection, including over 6,000 works, built up over 80 years, includes important works by Barbara Hepworth and Yorkshire’s other internationally celebrated artist, Henry Moore, alongside pieces by other leading British artists including David Bomberg, Harold Gilman, Roger Fry, Duncan Grant, Ben Nicholson, William Scott, Patrick Heron and Lucie Rie. The opening displays concentrate on Barbara Hepworth, placing her work in a local, national and international context.

Complementing the collection displays, The Hepworth Wakefield will present an ambitious programme of temporary exhibitions. The inaugural exhibition Hot Touch will present the work of internationally acclaimed sculptor, Eva Rothschild, running from 21 May – 9 October 2011 and will feature over 16 new works created by the artist specifically for the gallery spaces. It will be Rothschild’s first major solo show in a UK public gallery for four years.

The Hepworth Wakefield, set in the historic waterfront area of Wakefield on a landmark site on the banks of the River Calder, has been designed by the internationally acclaimed David Chipperfield Architects. Spread over 5,000 square metres, the visitor can explore 10 light-filled galleries and learning studios; an auditorium; an archive; café and shop with an outdoor terrace and gardens. These can all be accessed via a new pedestrian bridge over the River Calder, leading to The Hepworth Wakefield.

The opening of The Hepworth Wakefield is a highlight of Art in Yorkshire, a region-wide project supported by Tate. This year-long celebration of the visual arts across 19 galleries in Yorkshire is led by York Museums Trust in association with Arts Council England, MLA and Welcome to Yorkshire.

Councillor Peter Box, Leader, Wakefield Council:
“I passionately believe that the opening of the Hepworth Wakefield will lead to real benefits to our community, encouraging more investment in the future of our city and placing Wakefield on the world stage as a major centre for visitors from all over the country and abroad.”

Simon Wallis, Director, The Hepworth Wakefield, said:
“This is a moment to savour for so many people who have worked together over the last decade to see the dream of the Hepworth Wakefield realised. We are proud to present the work of Barbara Hepworth, a daughter of this city, in this superbly designed gallery and to develop an international centre for the visual arts, which will attract artists and visitors from all over the world.”

Alan Davey, Chief Executive, Arts Council England, said:
“The Arts Council is proud to be a major supporter of The Hepworth Wakefield, investing £5.5 million of National Lottery funds to help create this world-class gallery. We are delighted that they will also be funded as part of our national portfolio from 2012 -15.

The opening is one of the cultural highlights of 2011 and will cement the increasing national and international profile of Yorkshire as a centre for the presentation and understanding of sculpture. We hope that the gallery, like the ground-breaking work of Barbara Hepworth, will inspire visitors from far and wide and become a creative centre for the people and communities of Wakefield and beyond”.

Dr Sophie Bowness, granddaughter of Barbara Hepworth, said:
"On behalf of our family, I would like to thank all those who have contributed to making this remarkable gallery a reality. Our gift is a unique group of Barbara Hepworth's surviving prototypes, the majority in plaster, from which editions of bronzes were cast, and we hope it will greatly enhance understanding of her working methods. We have found the ideal home for the plasters in Wakefield, the city in which Barbara was born and grew up. We would particularly like to thank the Art Fund, through whom we have made this gift."

Dame Jenny Abramsky, Chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund said: "Barbara Hepworth’s sculptures have left a legacy of artistic genius which continues to inspire us well into the 21st century. The opening of this much-anticipated gallery, funded with a £5m Heritage Lottery Fund grant, will be a fitting celebration of Hepworth’s life and work as well as putting her home town of Wakefield on the cultural tourist map.”
Sir Nicholas Serota, Director of Tate said:
“The Hepworth Wakefield is one of the most exciting and beautiful galleries in the United Kingdom. Its opening in May 2011 will bring tens of thousands of people to Wakefield, similarly to when Tate Modern opened, which brought hundreds of thousands of people to London. I think The Hepworth is a great building and it will offer a wonderful day out for people to come and experience Wakefield in a new way.”

Antony Gormley, artist said:
“The Hepworth Wakefield will become a place of pilgrimage for all lovers of sculpture and now with the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds and Yorkshire Sculpture Park in West Bretton, Yorkshire will be a place of inspiration for all.”

See also:

.

Turner Contemporary by David Chipperfield	Museum Folkwang by David Chipperfield	Liangzhu Culture Museum by David Chipperfield

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Architects McDowell+Benedetti have completed Castleford Bridge at Castleford in West Yorkshire, England.

The 130-metre long S-shaped footbridge is one of a number of regeneration projects in Castleford - including Tickle Cock Bridge Underpass by DSDHA architects - being filmed for a TV series.

The Castleford Project will be aired Channel 4 television series this summer. See our previous story for more information.

Photographs by Tim Soar.

The following information is from McDowell+Benedetti:

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Castleford Bridge officially opens

Residents of Castleford took their first steps across Castleford Footbridge on Friday when the bridge was officially opened by Wakefield Council Leader Peter Box and TV presenter Kevin McCloud.

The £4.8 million bridge has been funded by Wakefield Council, Yorkshire Forward and English Partnerships. It creates a safer more pleasant pedestrian route than the 200 year-old Victorian road bridge further downstream. The new bridge will unite the north and south of Castleford's riverside community connecting Aire Street to Mill Lane.

The opening of the bridge marks the completion of The Castleford Project group of community improvement schemes in the former mining town of Castleford in West Yorkshire. The initiative is the focus of a major forthcoming television series, which will be presented by Kevin McCloud, presenter of Channel 4's 'Grand Designs’, and televised on Channel 4 this August.

Architects of the bridge McDowell+Benedetti were selected by local community representatives as winners of an invited competition in 2003 to design a river crossing as part of a wider waterfront regeneration masterplan. Principal Renato Bendetti has worked closely with the community project champions from the outset in a committed consultation process which helped to ensure the quality of the design.

Designed by McDowell+Bendetti with Alan Baxter Associates and Arup and constructed by Costain, Castleford bridge is the most ambitious of the eleven interventions in Castleford and has already been shortlisted for the prestigious Prime Minister's Award for Better Public Buildings as part of the British Construction Industry Awards scheme.

A public space not an icon
The opening of the bridge will re-focus the river and bay as Castleford’s prime natural asset. The 130 metre long ‘S’ shaped bridge curves in response to the site context of the mill, the weir and old wrecked barge, giving users maximum experience of these landmarks and the lively flow of white water over the weir apron.

Anchored by only three V-shaped supports, the deck structure appears to hover over the River Aire offering a ‘magic carpet’ from which to enjoy the picturesque setting.

The streamlined timber deck bridge is designed as a generous public space as well as a route, with the structure rising through the deck to create four 20 metre curving benches to sit and enjoy the panoramic views.

Materiality
Materials include untreated Cumaru timber for the bridge decking and handrail, stainless steel for the balustrades, tension cables, bench panels and a central grille in the timber deck to mark the midpoint of contra-flexure.

The bridge is the first major bridge in the UK which is fully Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. The curved Cumaru timber boards have been sourced from sustainable forests in Brazil and were chosen for their durability (Cumaru is two and half times the density of oak). The decking area is 524m2 and if laid end to end the boards would stretch a distance of 8km. The boards run longitudinally along the bridge and over the benches (with anti-slip strips on the edge) and are fitted together by a unique concealed clamped-fixing system, tailor made for the project. This system avoids invasive drilling and minimises disruption to the bridge’s slender deck and streamlined form. It presents the maximum timber surface to walk on, while allowing the wood to expand, contract and weather naturally.

Lighting is embedded under the Cumaru handrails, which run the 130m length of the bridge. Balustrade posts are curved to reduce climb-ability and a series of stainless steel marker plates which sit flush with the deck and rise up from the benches, create arm rests to define personal space and to dissuade skateboarders from edge ‘grinding.’

Subtle and innovative structure
The understated engineering is subtly innovative and integral with the construction methodology. Four identical 26m curved spans are joined by three 9m support spans, two curved and the third straight (at the central point of contra flexure). The continuous spanning structure consists of two 500mm x 400mm box beams, with one box beam increasing in depth to 1000mm, to provide the additional strength required for each long span. This extra structure rises above the deck in a gentle curve to create generous benches in a wave-like rhythm over the length of the bridge, minimising overall bridge height while maintaining the 1 in 100 year estimated flood water-clearance required by the Environment Agency.

The three white bridge supports also minimise visual impact and disruption of river flow. Twinned double steel columns branch off foundation caps in a ‘V’ formation spreading the load at bridge level. The base of these columns is permanently below water to emphasise thinness. Twinned stainless steel fins cantilever off the main spanning beams, between which bearers for the timber decking are fixed. The structural timber deck is unfinished Cumaru boards that span ±800mm between the bearers. Every element contributes structurally to ensure the overall profile is as thin and refined as possible.

River Aire master plan
The bridge is the first phase of McDowell+Bendetti’s proposed waterfront regeneration masterplan, which includes a new public square and boardwalk on the south bank, a landscaped public space on the north bank, and a cohesive lighting strategy surrounding the bay called the “string of pearls”.

At its southern end, the Cumaru boards land onto boards of Streetdeck, an indication of the proposed future phase south bank boardwalk, which will open up regeneration opportunities for new river facing sites between Castleford Bridge and the 200 year old Victorian road bridge.

Architect, Renato Benedetti said: "'We have worked hard to achieve a minimal structure to accentuate the views and the experience of the water for users. The bridge is more than a crossing. It's a new public space for Castleford town, uniting communities on both banks. It makes an asset of the river as a focal point for the town and as the first phase of our proposed riverscape masterplan, we hope it will act as a strong catalyst for future regeneration projects."

The Castleford Project

The Castleford Project is a collaboration between Wakefield Council, Channel 4, regional and national funding agencies and a local community passionate to bring positive change to the town. It was set up in 2003 to identify and develop a group of community improvement schemes and features the work of top UK and internationally renowned designers including McDowell+Benedetti, Martha Schwartz, Hudson Architects and DSDHA.

Project progress has been filmed for a major Channel 4 series to be screened in August. It will become one of the world's first televised regeneration schemes. Over five years leading architects, designers and regeneration experts have collaborated with Wakefield Council and local people and agencies responsible for improving Castleford. Projects range from the new footbridge to a play forest, green spaces and a new town square.

The project aims to be a catalyst for change in the town, with £11 million of projects funded by a number of agencies. Plus with a further £200 million of other development projects in the pipeline for the town, the future looks bright.

The TV series follows the triumphs and tribulations of the process, looks at the reality of regeneration and finds out what local people and experts make of the experience.

Project Facts:
Location: Castleford, River Aire, Yorkshire WF10, UK
Client: City of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council (WMDC)
Construction Value: £3.2 million
Surface area: Bridge Surface: 524m2, associated work at both banks: 2210m
Total timber weight: 37 tonnes
Decking: All deck boards laid end to end = 8km
Stainless steel deck fixings: total of 7000

Design Team:
Architects: McDowell+Benedetti
Design team: Renato Benedetti, Jonathan McDowell, Phillip Schone (Project
Architect), Roland Karthaus (Project Architect)
Project Managers: McDowell+Benedetti
Structural Engineers: Alan Baxter & Associates
Civil/Hydrological Engineers: Arup Water (Leeds)
Lighting Consultant: Sutton Vane & Associates
Quantity Surveyor: Philip Pank Partnership
Timber Consultant: Engineered Wood Products (EWP) and Eco Timber

Delivery team:
Project Manager: Wakefield MDC
Architectural Consultant: McDowell+Benedetti
Design & Build Contractor: Costain Ltd
Costain’s Structural Engineer: Tony Gee & Partners
Costain’s Electrical Contractor: Nomenca

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