• Home
• Tate Britain
• Tate Modern
• Tate Liverpool
• Tate St Ives

History

Facts & Figures

 
The Centenary Development

The Centenary Development has upgraded more than one third of the Grade II* listed Tate Britain building. This upgrading includes:

• On the upper floor (level 2), four new galleries, and five refurbished galleries in the north-west quadrant of the building. All of these provide substantially increased and improved display space for the Collection.
• On the lower floor, six new temporary exhibition galleries, the Linbury Galleries.
• Combined with space released by the opening of Tate Modern, the development brings an increase of thirty-five percent on previously available space.
• Improved and full environmental controls installed in the north-west quarter of the gallery which is where the earliest and most vulnerable works are displayed. This brings with it significant benefits for the care and conservation of the Collection, including works on paper, archival material, books and miniatures alongside paintings and sculpture.
• The new Manton Entrance in Atterbury Street (the street running immediately west of Tate Britain between Millbank and John Islip Street). This new entrance will reduce overcrowding at the main entrance, allow more flexible opening hours, provide direct access to exhibitions, and give full independent access to disabled visitors.
• Improved, independent disabled access to all parts of the building, and improved facilities for disabled people.
• A second shop, plus new cloakroom and toilets, at the Manton Entrance.
• New ticketing facilities for temporary exhibitions at the Manton Entrance.
• A large new information desk in the Manton Entrance foyer.
• Access to unprecedented online information about British art, including digitised images of 50,000 British works of art. This key part of the Centenary Development is known as Insight.
• Improved facilities for schools.
• Improved facilities for family and group visits.
• Studio One, a new space for education and events.
• New hard and soft landscaping, including gardens, hedging, a sculpture court and new paths.

 
Design Information

The Manton Entrance and Staircase

• On the Manton Entrance, Archway Independent bed Portland stone was used to match the pre-existing external elements of the building.
• The external ramp is sixty-six metres long, five metres wide and approximately three metres deep at its deepest point. The ramp is made from York Stone
• The external glass wall consists of a satin polished stainless steel balustrade 70 metres long which supports thirty-eight pieces of 15mm thick, toughened, heat soaked, silkscreen-printed glass. All the panels are unique, the largest one being 400cm high and 180cm wide. All the panels are unique, the largest one being 400 cm high and 180 cm wide.
• The Manton Entrance measures just under 650m² including the staircase
• The limestone floor in the Manton Entrance hall is Puglia Belge limestone from Southern Italy. Approximately 100m³ of material was quarried to produce the 900m² installed
• The wall in the Manton entrance Foyer uses Armourcoat, which is a specialist wall covering and is seen in the entrance hall and staircase of the Centenary Development. It is an Italian based plaster mix than can be applied in various colours, textures and finishes.
• The new cloakroom is approximately 130m².
• The new shop measures 134m².

The Linbury Galleries

A major feature of the Centenary Development is the creation of the Linbury Galleries.

Inserted into Level 1, the lower floor of the north-west quadrant of the building, and entered directly from the new Manton Entrance, this suite of six new galleries will provide a significant and entirely new area of display space.

The galleries will be used primarily for temporary exhibitions, adding greatly to the space available for exhibitions at Tate Britain. Their introduction will also release more space on Level 2, the upper gallery floor, for Collection displays.

The Linbury Galleries are fully environmentally controlled. They are highly flexible, and suitable for a wide range of exhibitions and displays. The galleries were made possible by the Linbury Trust, the charitable fund of John Sainsbury and Anya Linden, Lord and Lady Sainsbury of Preston Candover.

Further design details:

• Six permanent galleries. Total space is 966.45m². Wall height 4.2m
• Ceiling slots provided for installation of temporary walls, allowing flexibility in display space.
• Lighting - combined uplights and downlights within coffered ceilings with lighting tracks available between coffers. All lights can be dimmed.
• Ceiling - suspended fibrous plaster.
• Floor - American white oak.
• Doors - stained hardwood.
• Wall Lining - MDF.
• Environmental control - air supplied through high-level slot diffusers and extracted through floor grilles.

 
Refurbishment of Galleries

Of the five galleries that remain from the original north-west quadrant on Level 2, four have been totally refurbished, and one partially refurbished. The total area refurbished is 957.45m². As part of the listed building, the upgraded galleries are faithful to the original design, though now they are fully environmentally controlled.

The refurbishment work that has been completed is as follows:

• The floors were removed and new floors installed, to provide a stronger structure but also a thinner one, to allow for increased height in the galleries below. The new flooring surface is American white oak.
• The marble skirting boards, dados and ornate door surrounds had to be removed piece by piece and put into storage during the works. Having been cleaned and repaired, the majority of the marble has now been replaced.
• Walls were removed to put in new air conditioning ductwork, with air supply outlets at high level. The finished surface of the new walls is MDF.
• The decorative cornicing and ceilings have remained in situ throughout and have undergone some repairs.
• New lighting control systems have been put in place.
• The roof glazing has been replaced and has been provided with internal blinds and external sun screening louvres.
• New doors have been installed throughout the galleries.
• Room 9 has had partial upgrading. New MDF wall linings, new lighting and control systems and refurbished floor surface.

 
Art Handling Areas

There is a new art handling transit space of 111.8m² on Level 2, leading directly to the new Linbury Galleries. This allows a secure and environmentally controlled area for the movement of a wide variety of art works.