Journal Posts - Jamie Fobert Architects

Ahead of the announcement of the RIBA Stirling Prize winner on 16 October, RIBA is hosting two ‘Stirling Stories’ events, in London and Leeds, to celebrate the six shortlisted buildings. Architects from each of the projects will reveal more about their work in insightful presentations, followed by a panel discussion and a live audience question and answer session.

Jamie Fobert will be joined by Liz Smith from Purcell (Heritage Architects) and Pippa Nissen of Nissen Richards (Interpretation Designers) to talk about the National Portrait Gallery.

Thursday 3 October 2024, 6:30pm to 9.30pm @ RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London, W1B 1AD

Thursday 10 October, 2024, 5pm to 9pm @The Everyman Cinema, Leeds

We are thrilled to announce that we have been shortlisted as one of the five architect-led consultant teams that will compete in the International Architectural Competition for The British Museum’s Western Range Galleries.

Eric Parry Architects and Jamie Fobert Architects’ collaborative team will bring a dynamic approach to creating the best contemporary museum spaces within historically significant buildings.

We will be joined by: Buro Happold, David Bonnett Associates, Max Fordham, Mima, Price and Myers, Purcell, Space Syntax and Studio ZNA.

We are delighted that the National Portrait Gallery has been shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize 2024.

The judges said, “A seamless blend of contemporary design and conservation of historical elements reinvigorate this Grade I*-listed cultural institution. Visitor experience is enhanced by a welcoming new entrance of bronze doors featuring hand-drawn portraits by Tracey Emin, along with a light-filled learning centre and accessible public space carved from former offices. The entrance reorientates the gallery towards the bustling West End, on which its back was previously turned, while crucial accessibility alterations have opened the building to all, including an entrance ramp and wider doorways. Careful interventions, such as using original windows to form new doorways, exemplify a harmony between heritage and adaptability.”

Jamie Fobert Architects has vacancies for an architectural assistant and/or an interior designer to join our London studio.

We are keen to meet candidates with: an intuitive understanding of 3D space; a keen interest in materiality; self-motivation, enthusiasm, adaptability and an ability to work well as part of a team; high proficiency working in Rhino and 3D rendering software (V-Ray or similar).

To apply for this opportunity, please send by Thursday 7 August 2024: a cover letter introducing yourself, outlining your motivation and highlighting relevant experience; a CV, detailing your education, work experience, software skills and languages; a concise illustrated portfolio.

All enquiries and applications to: recruitment@jamiefobertarchitects.com

The National Portrait Gallery, by Jamie Fobert Architects and Purcell, is one of 15 projects shortlisted for 2024’s AR Public Awards.

This year’s shortlist includes a range of projects across the world, from India to Ireland, and from Mexico to Tanzania, from seaside baths in Dublin, Ireland to a border crossing in Agua Prieta, Mexico and a centre for Syrian refugees in Turkey. The judges were looking for a shortlist that not only celebrates ‘design and landscape architecture within the site, but also how the site interacts with the wider city or surrounding context’.

Our project for the National Portrait Gallery added only 50m2 of new-build space and, yet, by opening up lost and underused existing spaces, a vast 959m2 of publicly accessible space was added. Since reopening in June 2023, the Gallery’s visitor numbers have been transformed. Incidental visits have increased by 56%, indicating that the entrance is more visible and welcoming. And 93% of visitors agreed the Gallery is ‘for everyone’, fulfilling the ambition to make the Gallery accessible and welcoming to the widest and most diverse audience. We are delighted that the National Portrait Gallery’s new, welcoming public spaces have been recognised by AR Public, alongside so many wonderful international projects.

We are thrilled that the National Portrait Gallery has been shortlisted for The Art Fund, Museum of the Year, 2024. The NPG has been announced as one of five finalists along with an outstanding group of museums and galleries from across the nation. The prize is as much, if not more, for the programme and the outreach to communities than for their architectural reinvention. I cannot express enough my admiration for the NPG learning and audience & community teams who have made the most of the new spaces since the reopening. From the end of June until the end of February, when these figures were released: 1.4 million visits +31% on pre closure First time visitors +66%, Families +61%, Aged 16-34 +34% and... for me an incredibly moving statistic... Disabled visitors +357% in comparison to pre-closure It makes all the hard work and care so very worth while. @nationalportraitgallery @artfund @historicengland @dcmsgovuk @nicholascullinan @nissenrichardsstudio @purcell.architecture @priceandmyers @maxfordhamllp #artfund #museumoftheyear #portrait #portraitphotography #art #sculpture #historic #historicfabric #public #access #forall #space

The National Portrait Gallery has been announced as one of five finalists shortlisted for this year’s Art Fund Museum of the Year, the world’s biggest museum prize.

Jenny Waldman, the director of Art Fund, described the shortlist as “shining examples of the impact museums are making locally and nationally. Each of our finalists truly has something for everyone … These organisations are all real leaders in their field. I urge everyone to go and visit these extremely special spaces.”

The National Portrait Gallery reopened to the public in June 2023 after its most significant transformation since 1896, comprising a complete redisplay of its Collection and a major refurbishment of its building. Led by Jamie Fobert Architects, the architectural project included the creation of new public spaces, a more welcoming visitor entrance and a state-of-the-art Learning Centre.

One final post about my recent @scaffold_podcast , episode 98 @blndrfld Matthew Blunderfield took me right back to my student days to discuss my final University of Toronto project which was a reworking of St James Town. This cluster of poorly built 1960’s modernist towers were by 1986 already being considered for demolition. With Delirious New York in hand, I proposed to remove two towers to create a central park and build three more to form a strong periphery (image 3) Stripping the substandard cladding away and working with the existing concrete structure, long before 'Adaptive reuse' was coined. This strategy allowed the project to focus on the freeing the ground plain (image 4) and imbedding public functions into the unified underground floors; a school, a sports centre, cinemas, even rehousing the existing police station and a subterranean club modeled loosely on the baths of Diocletian (bottom right) (image 5) I used (very rough) photo montage to explore conceptual ideas. The first was about the complexes original aspiration of swinging 60's Toronto (image 1), and the final photo montage was a critique of the Miesian dream of the modern nuclear family, even the tea pot and stereo are Mies towers. If you look closely Mies is on the telly. All the drawings were hand drawn (there were no computers then) in ink on mylar, a plastic paper with a fine opaque surface. Working on one sheet for weeks at a time, building it up slowly, was one of the benefits of pre-computer architectural practice. Image 6, is a 3d drawings, a view of the lobby, drawn in red and green in two overlapping perspectives. When viewed with 3d glasses the two images merge and create the illusion of depth. This, rather mad, idea lead to me being given the graduating drawing prize of $1,000 which I set aside to pay for my flight and accommodation to come to London the following year. #architecture #modernism #toronto #stjamestown #drawing #architecturaldrawing #handdrawing #towers #miesvanderrohe #delerious #distopia

Scaffold is a podcast series featuring interviews with architects, artists and designers. Hosted by Matthew Blunderfield and produced by the Architecture Foundation, it is available on Apple Pocasts, Spotify, and most major podcast streaming platforms.

In Episode 98, Matthew interviews Jamie, who reflects on the arc of his career to date with a focus on the art that most inspires his architectural practice, including works by Giorgio Morandi and Vilhelm Hammershøi, as well as the links between work and selfhood, aesthetics and identity.

“The artist working alone in their studio is the antithesis of what we do every day as architects […] and yet one hopes that the work you produce might have the same resonance.” – Jamie Fobert

Find out more and listen here.

Episode 98 @scaffold_podcast Vilhelm Hammershøi, Danish artist, b.1886, d.1916 Matthew had indicated that we might begin our conversation discussing images that I had often used at the beginning of lectures, but I was surprised the extent that the conversation came back numerous times to these artists, there work, and later, their lives. We spoke at length about this particular painting that had been used in an article I wrote (with @bennaschellhorn ) about the Hammershøi exhibition at the RA in 2008 (so long ago). So I thought I’d share it here, and two details we discuss. As well as two of the endless set of paintings he made of his courtyard windows. I loved the way the light interacts with material: polished wood, plush fabric. The light is a “quiet visitor” in the room. He captures the atmosphere itself. #hammershøi #danish #painter #art #painting #atmosphere #light

“Sowing Doubt: Clues about Indigenous Representations in Colombia” After visiting museums showing indigenous artefacts it was wonderful, if at times confusing, to visit this powerful exhibition “looking at the role of indigenous cultural production within the context of Colombian art history. Touching on concepts such as identity, modernity, and the sacred, Sembrar La Duda offers a unique perspective on the evolution of indigenous culture as both expression and visual storytelling.” (From the catalogue) I was particularly taken by two artists: Eduardo Pradilla 1 - Anaconda, 1991 2 - Jaguar, 1991 Carlos Jacanamijoy 3 - Agua azul, 1994 4 - A la hora hacker los instruments, 1994 Powerful and evocative works. #art #contemporaryart #gallery #exhibition #painting #indigenous #culture #bogota #colombia🇨🇴 #painting #powerful

In his fifth collaboration with Jamie Fobert Architects, filmmaker Tapio Snellman (@tapiolito)has created a wonderful new film that takes us on a tour of the recently transformed National Portrait Gallery in London. The film begins with the public forecourt both before and after the transformation, capturing the bustle of Charing Cross Road. It then moves in through the newly cut entrance doors, which feature 45 portraits in bronze by artist Tracey Emin. Arriving into the generous entry hall, we go on to tour the galleries on the upper floors, which have not only undergone complete refurbishment but also a comprehensive re-display and reinterpretation of the world’s largest collection of portraits. We also pay a visit to the new Mildred and Simon Palley Learning Centre and its courtyard. Link to film in bio @tapiolito @nationalportraitgallery @nicholascullinan @traceyeminstudio @purcell.architecture @priceandmyers @maxfordhamllp @nissenrichardsstudio @alexcochranearchitects #london #architecture #art #portrait #gallery #artgallery #transformation #westminster #public #publicspace

In his fifth collaboration with Jamie Fobert Architects, filmmaker Tapio Snellman has created a wonderful new film that takes us on a tour of the recently transformed National Portrait Gallery in London.

The film journeys from the new public forecourt on bustling Charing Cross Road and in through the new entrance doors, which feature 45 portraits in bronze by artist Tracey Emin. Arriving into the generous entry hall, we go on to tour the galleries on the upper floors, which have not only undergone complete refurbishment but also a comprehensive re-display and reinterpretation of the world’s largest collection of portraits. We also pay a visit to the new Mildred and Simon Palley Learning Centre and its courtyard.

In September, Jamie visited students at the London Design & Engineering University Technical College in Royal Docks, E16, as part of the Speakers for Schools programme.

Jamie was pleased to meet with all the Key Stage 5 Built Envinronment students. He spoke about his own journey to becoming an architect and described some of the challenges and the highly collaborative nature of our recent project for the National Portrait Gallery. Jamie went on to work with a smaller group of students who presented their very first Architecture Crit.

Speakers for Schools aims to level the playing field for young people from state schools and colleges and empower them to reach their potential by providing them with life-changing opportunities that they would otherwise struggle to access.

Heading up the FT’s compilation of “The best museum gift shops in the world” is our very own shop for Kettle’s Yard, which was completed alongside the new galleries and learning centre in 2018.

The FT writes, “This small, light-filled extension echoes the simple beauty of the original 19th-century
cottages-turned-museum created by collector Jim Ede.”

The retail team at Kettle’s Yard has filled the shop with imaginative and beautiful products and reproductions of objects from the house, allowing every visitor to bring a piece of this magical place home with them, if they wish. Our design for the shop began by adapting the ‘homemade’ joinery of Jim Ede’s cupboards and shelves into a simple set of units, all made in tulip wood and hand-painted on site. Even Jim’s beloved corner China cabinet is recreated, though simplified.