Towner Gallery
Subscribe now to instantly view this image
Subscribe to the Architects’ Journal (AJ) for instant access to the AJ Buildings Library, an online database of nearly 2,000 exemplar buildings in photographs, plans, elevations and details.
Already a subscriber? Sign in
The gallery's entrance has a minimal aesthetic
Daniel Clements (website) Download Original
Cultural Centre housing a gallery collection, as well as providing new conference exhibition space, community activity rooms, retail facilities and a cafe
The building incorporates art storage for the Towner permanent collection and is designed to enable the public to view the gallery's entire collection for the first time. Flexible spaces have been designed to accommodate touring exhibitions, conferencing and the promotion of education and learning within the building, acting as a base for community outreach programmes.
The design is informed by many factors including views, circulation and the scale and nature of neighbouring existing buildings. Exposed concrete ceilings for heat retention and displaced ventilation through the walls create a controlled interior environment.
The materials and finishes of the facades are intended to complement the Congress Theatre. Fair-faced concrete is used in the entrance area and canopy, render is used on the remainder, defining the different parts.
Data
- Begun: Oct 2005
- Completed: 2008
- Floor area: 2,600m2
- Sector: Arts and culture
- Total cost: £8.6M
- Procurement: JCT 98
- Address: Towner Gallery, Devonshire Park, College Road, Eastbourne, BN21 4JJ, United Kingdom
Professional Team 
- Architect: Rick Mather Architects
- Project architect: Rick Mather
- Client: Eastbourne Borough Council
- Planning supervisor: Gardiner & Theobold
- Lighting consultant: DPA Lighting Consultants
- Acoustic consultant: Sandy Brown Associates
- Main contractor: Morgan Ashurst
- M&E consultant: Mott MacDonald
- Project manager: Cragg Management Services
- Structural engineer: Dewhurst Macfarlane and Partners
- Quantity surveyor: Gardiner & Theobald
AJBL Sponsor
VMZINC
VMZINC has almost two centuries experience of manufacturing a wide range of rolled zinc products for use in construction