Hollybush Gardens

The new contemporary art gallery for Hollybush Gardens rehabilitates an abandoned Victorian-era brick vault located beneath the Rosebery Avenue Bridge Viaduct.

The main entry is from Warner Yard and opens onto a long gallery of sandblasted London stock engineering bricks with contrasting deep blue glazed corner bricks. Beyond is the main gallery - a 6m high vaulted space which follows the profile of the viaduct arch. A new lighting and services grid is suspended from an existing gantry system, while the existing concrete floor is cleaned and left exposed as a counterpoint to new art walls.

A new stair links to upper-level offices, a viewing balcony and a separate studio space with direct access from Rosebery Ave. Beneath this stair is a small pocket gallery.

Through careful examination of the existing building fabric, the project proposes a series of specific settings for the display of art which respond to the almost archaeological nature of the existing space.