TATE MODERN
An enlarged welcome zone will greet visitors at the foot of the Turbine Hall ramp, with information desks and screens, ticketing facilities and seating. It will offer full details of the programmes available throughout the building.
The visitor will be drawn down an intriguing series of ramps into the awe-inspiring volumes of the oil tanks on Level 1. The central core of TM2 will rise alongside the concourse, with eight large high-speed lifts serving the new building.
Tank 1 and its adjoining two 6m-high as-found galleries will be programmed with changing displays, exhibitions and commissions of contemporary art. Tank 2 will be used for performances and events complementing the programme in Tank 1. Supporting facilities such as green rooms will be located in Tank 3. Taken together the Tanks will place the exploration of contemporary visual art practice and its resonance in performance and contemporary thought at the foundation of the transformed Tate Modern.
Meanwhile on the other side of the Turbine Hall and at the same level, the current learning facilities in TM1 will be remodelled and upgraded to provide a hub for Tate Modern’s schools and family programmes.
Visitors will approach Tate Modern through three distinct public landscapes to the north, west and south. The northern river approach will remain substantially unchanged and will continue to be used for large-scale events. The West square will be completely remodelled with a landscape designed to appeal to families and children, with direct access to the Level 2 café. This café will be refurbished to offer access to on-screen learning resources, more comfortable seating and adjacent meeting rooms which will be available for use by the local community, partner organisations and Tate programmes alike. The adjacent Starr Auditorium will be upgraded and completely refurbished.
A new square to the South will be created with two distinct areas. Trees will be planted in the south-eastern section, offering a quieter, shaded space for visitors to relax. The south-western section will be modelled as a city piazza, animated by TM2’s café and retail facility, with space for small-scale events. The form of the converted oil tanks below will rise into the landscape, providing unique terraced platforms with seating areas and generous space for visitor flow.
A public route will be created through Tate Modern’s new southern entrance across the Turbine Hall bridge towards St Paul’s and the City. The route will be open up to 12 hours a day and will be a convenient route for local residents and workers to access the Millennium Bridge. A circular stair on the bridge will provide a clear visual link and route down for visitors to approach the welcome zone on Level 1.
A large flexible exhibition suite with high ceilings will form the heart of Level 3. The space will be able to present larger-scale works, time-based media and sculpture.
The galleries will house loan exhibitions, and have the potential to be programmed in various configurations: for example, in one season a single large-scale exhibition could be presented; in the next a mid-scale exhibition could be seen alongside a related collection display; in the third two mid-scale exhibitions could be presented alongside each other and a smaller display from the Collection.
A learning and interpretation space will be adjacent to the exhibition suite, offering groups and individual visitors space for discussion and reflection in view of the galleries. Visitors will congregate in a concourse linked to the main boulevard, adjacent to an exhibition shop. An espresso bar will overlook the southern piazza.
The new suite will allow the western part of Level 4 in TM1 to be devoted to Collection displays, programmed in relation to the adjacent loan exhibitions. As a result visitors will be able to see loan exhibitions in both TM1 and TM2 presented in dialogue with the Collection, in a wider range of configurations and in a changing rhythm.
There will be smaller-scale, intimate galleries on Level 4 with 4m-high ceilings. They offer the potential for a quieter, more contemplative experience of the Collection. Amongst the rooms will be:
The other galleries will be programmed in two or three clusters. At different times they will be used to show groups of individual artist’s works from the Collection, small thematic displays, and will also be used to show iconic anchor works. The galleries are ideally suited for smaller-scale works of art including works on paper, prints and small-scale sculpture.
The public concourse at Level 4 will link to a terrace overlooking the Turbine Hall. A void will provide a clear visual link to Level 5, on which top-lit galleries with high ceilings will be found. This will allow for more works from the Collection to be on view at any one time in spaces ideally suited to them.
Spaces for interpretation, discussion and reflection will be found between the gallery clusters on Levels 4 and 5, providing high-quality informal facilities for group and individual learning.
Offices will fringe the southern façade of TM2 on Levels 4 and 5, offering a direct connection to the galleries and improving the links between staff and the public their programmes serve.
Exchange comprises a number of linked facilities that offer access to a range of learning and research resources for visitors, groups, visual arts professionals and staff.
Activities on Level 6 will focus on a large flexible study centre, with an open study area at its heart, designed for flexible use especially for collaborative small group work. Workstations for individual study will be found adjacent to the group area with access to a wide range of digital resources including films on art and artists, and time-based media works of art.
There will be flexible work space adjacent to the study centre fostering and developing partnerships involving independent curators, artists, interns, small scale organisations and research fellows. New programme models will be developed and tested through these partnerships. Level 6 will also accommodate a suite of flexible meeting spaces, with views over the city, and with access to a terrace at Turbine Hall roof level.
Activities on Level 7 will focus on a large studio space, in which works of art can be made at scale by learning groups. The studio will be fully equipped with digital production and editing resources. The principal function of the studio will be to develop participants’ practice and critical skills through making. A small gallery will be located adjacent to the studio in which work can be displayed, critiqued and showcased when appropriate.
Tate Modern’s Raw Canvas programmes will have their home on Level 7, adjacent to the studio, in a flexible lounge with access to digital resources. This space will be ‘owned’ and managed by the Raw Canvas team and will be available to all young Tate programme participants.
Seminars and public events for up to 100 participants will take place in the public programmes room on Level 7; an adjoining suite of meeting rooms will also be available for programme participants, partners and staff alike.
The key function of Level 8 is to support three floors of social spaces in the tower of TM2: the Tate Members lounge on Level 9, the Tate Grill on Level 10 and the Tate Terrace on Level 11. Supporting facilities located on this floor include kitchens, event storage and offices.
A large Tate Members’ lounge will be located on Level 9, with views across TM1 towards the river and city from a private terrace. The lounge will be divided into different zones providing space for eating, family relaxation, and quiet reflection. The existing Members Room at Level 6 of TM1 will become a Members Bar. We aim to provide sufficient facilities across TM1 and TM2 to meet the needs of the fastest growing arts membership in the UK. Level 9 will also include a private lounge.
Level 10 will house the Tate Grill, a 150 cover restaurant with outstanding views across to the west and the City, complementing the existing Level 7 family restaurant in TM1. Visitors will be met at a bar and reception area with dramatic views towards the east.
Level 11 will comprise the Tate Terrace, half of which will be enclosed and sheltered from the elements, offering uninterrupted views of the city for all Tate visitors.
Artists will be invited to undertake commissions at each of Levels 9 to 11, responding to social spaces in a new building with dramatic views of the ‘found’ space of the city. These commissions will complement and contrast with the commissions in the Turbine Hall and Tate Tanks, responding to the ‘found’ space of the power station.
