The Henry Moore Foundation – celebrating 40 years this year, with a series of special events – has unveiled its redeveloped estate, Dane Tree House, in Hertfordshire. The Foundation is housed in Moore’s former home and studios in Perry Green, a 70-acre site with landscaped gardens designed by Moore’s wife, Irina Moore.
The new buildings – including a new library, cafe, shop and archive facility – were executed by British firm, Hugh Broughton Architects. The design ‘maximises views of Moore’s sculptures, set in the gardens’, says Hugh Broughton, with generous glass giving onto the rural surroundings, a landscape in which Moore found considerable inspiration for his works, and where sculptures such such as Sheep Piece (1971-72) and Reclining Figure: Draped 1952-53) are now displayed.
The buildings are designed to increase the views of the Henry Moore sculptures in the grounds and gardens designed by Moore’s wife, Irina Moore
The Foundation reopened for the Easter weekend with an exhibition, ‘Becoming Henry Moore’, that goes back to the beginning, reviewing the artist’s early work and inspiration, which he found not only in the undulating curves of the countryside, but in artists like Picasso, Hepworth, Michelangelo and Epstein – all on view until October, alongside rare works by Moore himself, such as a collection of drawings from the 1920s that clearly show his singular style emerging.
Having already completed renovations on the sculpture stores at the Foundation in 2011, Hugh Broughton’s latest developments will improve the scope of the Foundation. Other major improvements include an extension to the library, revamped with oxidised steel panels, that also address the optimum storage conditions needed to safely store the Foundation’s valuable books, documents, and photographs.
There’s an emphasis throughout the design too on sustainability; a shared ground source heat pump will cool and warm the two buildings, and the use of timber implies aesthetic harmony and neutrality, in the same way Moore’s sculptures serenely inhabit the outdoors. Working with demanding atmospheres and unusual environments is something London-based Hugh Broughton are particularly good at – the firm is behind the award-winning Halley VI British Antarctic Research Station and the Juan Carlos I Antarctic Research Station (which is currently in construction).
The Henry Moore Foundation celebrates 40 years this year
Hugh Broughton Architects completed renovations on the sculpture stores at the Henry Moore Foundation in 2011
The new structures house a new library, cafe, shop and archive facility
The shop opens up to the cafe which overlooks the grounds of the Foundation
Oxidised steel panels clad the extended library and archive building
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Hugh Broughton Architects website and the Henry Moore Foundation website
ADDRESS
Henry Moore Studios & Gardens
Dane Tree House
Perry Green
Herts SG10 6EE
-
Nela is London's new stage for open-fire gastronomyA beloved Amsterdam import brings live-fire elegance to The Whiteley’s grand revival
-
How we host: with Our Place founder, Shiza ShahidWelcome, come on in, and take a seat at Wallpaper*s new series 'How we host' where we dissect the art of entertaining. Here, we speak to Our Place founder Shiza Shahid on what makes the perfect dinner party, from sourcing food in to perfecting the guest list, and yes, Michelle Obama is invited
-
Matteo Thun carves a masterful thermal retreat into the Canadian RockiesBasin Glacial Waters, a project two decades in the making, finally surfaces at Lake Louise, blurring the boundaries between architecture and terrain
-
Meet Forefront, a cultural platform redefining the relationship between art and architectureForefront co-founder Dicle Guntas, managing director of developer HGG, tells us about the exciting new initiative and its debut exhibition, a show of lumino-kinetic sculptures in London
-
Corten curves and contemporary flair transform this terraced house in LondonCagni Williams Associates’ sensitive refurbishment of a south London Edwardian house features a striking and sustainable Corten steel extension
-
You may know it as ‘Dirty House’ – now, The Rogue Room brings 21st-century wellness to ShoreditchThe Rogue Room – set in the building formerly known as Dirty House by Sir David Adjaye, now reinvented by Studioshaw – bridges wellness and culture in London's Shoreditch
-
The architectural innovation hidden in plain sight at Frieze London 2025The 2025 Frieze entrance pavilions launch this week alongside the art fair, showcasing a brand-new, modular building system set to shake up the architecture of large-scale events
-
RIBA Stirling Prize 2025 winner is ‘a radical reimagining of later living’Appleby Blue Almshouse wins the RIBA Stirling Prize 2025, crowning the social housing complex for over-65s by Witherford Watson Mann Architects, the best building of the year
-
‘Belonging’ – the LFA 2026 theme is revealed, exploring how places can become personalThe idea of belonging and what it means in today’s world will be central at the London Festival of Architecture’s explorations, as the event’s 2026 theme has been announced today
-
Join us on a first look inside Regent’s View, the revamped canalside gasholder project in LondonRegent's View, the RSHP-designed development for St William, situated on a former gasholder site on a canal in east London, has just completed its first phase
-
The Royal College of Art has announced plans for renewal of its Kensington campusThe Royal College of Art project, led by Witherford Watson Mann Architects, includes the revitalisation of the Darwin Building and more, in the hopes of establishing an open and future-facing place of creativity
