Sam Jacob Studio to design the new Cartoon Museum in London
![Sam Jacob Studio's deisgn for the facade of the Cartoon Museum](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ZPEaGdnU4PHmgEyyGLAfKi-415-80.jpg)
Sam Jacob Studio has been commissioned to design the new Cartoon Museum on London’s Oxford Street. Scheduled to open in early 2019, the new venue will heralds a new, more public-facing phase for the institution and also enable it to expand its programming surrounding British cartoons, caricatures, comics and animation.
Originally founded in 2006 by a group of cartoonists, collectors and enthusiasts, the Cartoon Museum has been searching for a new permanent home that will help it develop to its full potential. The museum has accepted a 25-year lease at 55 Wells Street, located near Oxford Circus. This central location, close to the Photographer’s Gallery and many of London’s leading commercial art galleries will help the Cartoon Museum definie its new, higher profile role.
‘It’s a fantastic institution with an incredible collection and programme,’ says Sam Jacob, who is known for his playful approach to architecture and working on A House for Essex with Grayson Perry with FAT.
Sam Jacob Studio’s rendering of the new Cartoon Museum in London
‘Our approach turns the graphic world of cartoons into a three-dimensional space full of humour and delight,’ he says of the new design which will create space for temporary installations and the display of the permanent collection. There will also be a shop, learning centre and archive space, as well as the necessary back of house facilities.
The museum wanted more flexibility with how they could present the collection of original cartoon and comic art from the 18th-century to the present day. Their archive includes examples from the ‘golden age of caricature’ by the likes Georgian era legends James Gillray and George Cruikshank, as well as political cartoons from the 19th and 20th centuries right up to contemporary cartoonists and comic artists such as Alison Bechdel, Charles Griffin, Michael Heath and Posy Simmonds amongst many others.
‘Sam Jacob Studio’s design brings a real sense of fun and vibrancy to the visitor experience. It has always been our aim to send people out of the museum happier than when they came in and Sam is really helping us to achieve this aim. We look forward to continuing to animate the cultural landscape of London,’ says Oliver Preston, chair of the Cartoon Museum.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Sam Jacob Studio website and the Cartoon Museum website
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Harriet Thorpe is a writer, journalist and editor covering architecture, design and culture, with particular interest in sustainability, 20th-century architecture and community. After studying History of Art at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and Journalism at City University in London, she developed her interest in architecture working at Wallpaper* magazine and today contributes to Wallpaper*, The World of Interiors and Icon magazine, amongst other titles. She is author of The Sustainable City (2022, Hoxton Mini Press), a book about sustainable architecture in London, and the Modern Cambridge Map (2023, Blue Crow Media), a map of 20th-century architecture in Cambridge, the city where she grew up.
-
Feel at home at Auberge, Château La Coste's new inn for culture lovers
Auberge La Coste sits at the heart of the art-filled estate, minutes away from the joyful town of Aix-en-Provence
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
This Nova Lima apartment is a Brazilian family oasis with striking Minas Gerais views
A Nova Lima apartment designed by Jacobsen Arquitetura celebrates its long, natural Minas Gerais vistas
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Commune’s sustainable personal care products look ‘quite unlike anything else’
Commune’s Somerset-made products stand out in the sustainable skincare crowd. Madeleine Rothery speaks with the brand’s co-founders Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux
By Madeleine Rothery Published
-
Tour the Natural History Museum’s new gardens, a Jurassic lark in London
The Natural History Museum in London has unveiled two new gardens, with resident dinosaurs, after a transformation led by architects Feilden Fowles
By Bridget Downing Published
-
Drama Republic moves into a colourful, handcrafted workspace in London
For the new creative HQ of production company Drama Republic, Emil Eve Architects remodels a warehouse into office space in London’s Holborn
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Hideaway House in London features timber panelling inspired by the New York hospitality scene
The elegantly refurbished Hideaway House by Studio McW in London features timber panelling inspired by Philip Johnson’s The Four Seasons Restaurant
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
An Uxbridge annexe by Bureau de Change is a design for effortless intergenerational living
Uxbridge Bower, a residential annexe in west London, is a contemporary addition offering both privacy and connection for the needs of a family
By Tianna Williams Published
-
‘Modern Buildings’ tours south-east London through a guide to post-war Blackheath and Greenwich
‘Modern Buildings: Blackheath and Greenwich’ is a detailed survey of a London borough’s rich trove of new modernist architecture
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Triangle House invites you to its inner world of colourful surprises
Triangle House by Artefact is a private home in Epsom, outside London, combining Caribbean style, colour and functionality
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Tour the refreshed Saint Andrew Holborn: an icon reveals its crisp new interior in London
DaeWha Kang reimagines Saint Andrew Holborn church through a sensitive architectural solution that blends tradition and modernity in London
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A Suffolk house by Studio Bark pairs a fresh visual language with low-energy design
Suffolk house Water Farm is off-the-grid but defiantly on the map, a bold new object in the landscape with a strong visual impact and minimal carbon footprint
By Jonathan Bell Published