Varying pitches of the undulating bronze roof which defines the gallery volume below. Initial concept sketch

Gallery and Apartment Building

Studio Mackereth were appointed to design a new-build art gallery and apartment building on a narrow but deep plot opposite the Connaught Hotel in old Mayfair in the heart of The Grosvenor Estate. The gallery extends to 736 sqm and is set over 3 floors, the residential element comprises 810 sqm comprised of four apartments with terraces arranged to the south side of the site.

This contemporary building has been carefully integrated into the streetscape using a striking palette limited to just two materials, the matt texture of dark handmade bricks is set against the lustre of patinated bronze for an elegant simplicity. Careful spacing and sizing of vertical bronze fins on the facades creates a subtle optical effect where the straight lines are perceived instead as gentle curves. This motif, which takes its inspiration from the work of op artists including Victor Vasarely and Bridget Riley, has been carried through into the interior of the building where it reappears in timber walls and hidden cabinetry.

An origami-like folded bronze roof, enclosing the ground floor at the rear of the site, articulates the gallery as a pavilion in a walled garden thus separating it from the apartment block to the front. Steep pitching angles to the roof mean that no supporting columns are needed in the galleries, allowing for large volumes of uninterrupted floor space making it ideal for large art installations.

• Finalist in the FX International Interior Design Award 2023

Location: Mayfair, London

Date: 2016-2023

Client: Summerford Ltd

Floor Area: 1550 sqm

Photographer: Andy Stagg / tom@penguinseggphoto.com / Visualisation One Ltd

Wallpaper
September 2023
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Studio Mackereth brings a contemporary spin to Mayfair with 30 Mount Row,wrapping a gallery and apartment complex in textured bricks and geometric angles
Ellie Stathaki, Wallpaper*
Left: The matt texture of dark roman bricks, handmade in Yorkshire with raked out horizontal mortar joints has been set against the crisp lustre of vertical bronze fins. Top right: Oversized pivot door provides access into the gallery space. Bottom right: The feeling of volume in the lobby to the apartments is enhanced by the striped figuring of the honed slabs of silver travertine on its walls and floor with fumed oak joinery behind a cantilevered travertine desk
Long section through the gallery spaces and apartments above
Left: The faceted folded roof provides an intriguing form but also a clever structural solution that enables soaring volumes with uninterrupted floor space for displaying large-scale art works. Right: At basement level the sheer scale of the gallery space with its five metre floor to ceiling height is striking
The apartment layouts are generously configured to take full advantage of the full width of the building to bathe the main living spaces in sunlight via the large windows on the south facing facade
The design of each apartment interior is unique, with every item specifically procured for the look and feel of an intelligently curated contemporary urban home
Third floor apartment guest suite with petrol blue silk velvet wall
Left: Kitchen with woven leather window seat overlooking The Connaught Hotel