We are delighted to announce that Bower Fuller has secured another project to continue our relationship with main contractor, Thomas Sinden. This time working in Sudbury, Suffolk to create a new prestigious National Centre for Thomas Gainsborough. Located on the existing site, this ambitious scheme aims to fascinate and inspire audiences to enjoy the art, life and passions of one of Britain’s foremost artists in the special setting of his childhood home. It will upgrade and expand the Grade I listed Georgian townhouse to ensure the museum’s financial future. The project will involve refurbishing and redisplaying the historic buildings while constructing a new three-storey wing that will create the largest art gallery in Suffolk. Visitors will be able to see Gainsborough’s masterpieces, exhibitions of international appeal, contemporary East Anglian art and a landscape studio with panoramic views over the town of Sudbury. A new café overlooking the 18th century garden will enhance the visitor experience, along with improved facilities such as enhanced spaces for learning, talks and concerts.
The project known as “Reviving an Artist’s Birthplace” seeks to attract visitors from across the UK and abroad. Nowhere else in the world will such a wide collection of Gainsborough’s work by those he inspired be seen in a single setting. The project will highlight Gainsborough’s widespread influence on the next generation of landscape artists, particularly John Constable (1776–1837). With the long-term loan of the Constable family’s collection on display, the museum will provide the only gallery space to see the landscapes of Constable in the vicinity of ‘Constable Country’.
We are very much looking forward to providing the MEP services for this project.
