During this period it is expected that the basement temporary exhibition galleries will be closed and shows will be held in the main Wilkins building. As the Sainsbury Wing is Grade-I listed, the plans will be very carefully scrutinised.īuilding work is likely to start next year. It is hoped that a planning application will be submitted to Westminster City Council in the summer. After plans have been refined, there will be a further consultation in May-June. The initial public consultation on NG200 will take place in the next few weeks. But he predicts that the gallery’s visitor numbers will recover to the pre-pandemic level of nearly six million a year by 2024-25. Gabriele Finaldi, the National Gallery director, admits that Covid-19 has had “a catastrophic impact on the arts and culture sector”. The exterior area around the Sainsbury Wing will be upgraded, creating a more attractive pedestrian route from Trafalgar Square to Leicester Square. Along with the main Sainsbury Wing staircase, the basement link will also provide another route to the galleries on the main upper floor of the original building. An illustration of how the outdoor space outside the Sainsbury Wing on Trafalgar Square could look like on completion © Selldorf ArchitectsĪ Research Centre and a Members area will be inserted into the corner of the 19th-century Wilkins Building, accessible from a new basement link with the Sainsbury foyer and from street level.
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