The winning team selected for the estimated £150,000 (excluding VAT) will draw up plans to enhance the landscape of the Grade II-listed Hertford House base which hosts 5,500 objects including medieval and Renaissance works of art and princely arms and armour.
The procurement comes two months after the Wallace Collection appointed New York’s Selldorf Architects in collaboration with Purcell and Lawson Ward Studio to create a five-year regeneration masterplan.
The 6,300m² project will improve visitor circulation throughout the building, upgrade staff facilities provide new income generating opportunities and improve environmental controls. Key aims include boosting visitor numbers to 500,000 every year.
According to the brief: ‘The Wallace Collection (TWC) is seeking to appoint a Landscape Architect for a significant re-development project as part of TWC’s Masterplan. The completion of a full RIBA Stage 4 design is required, along with RIBA Stage 5/6/7 services.
Tenderers must demonstrate sufficient capability to support the procurement and delivery of the project at the Wallace Collection in Westminster, London.’
The Wallace Collection is a former family home in Marylebone featuring an art collection which has been open to the public since 1900 and now receives around 500,000 visitors a year. Despite growing visitor numbers the site has several shortcomings including way-finding issues, long queues for tickets, an overcrowded café and inadequate toilets.
The new masterplan will review the entire site and identify a series of solutions for boosting the visitor experience, improving environmental sustainability and unlocking new income generating activities.
Further details of the latest landscape commission – including evaluation criteria and eligibility requirements – are only available to teams submitted signed completed NDAs.