Gainsborough House, the childhood home of the celebrated British artist Thomas Gainsborough, is about to reopen in Sudbury, Suffolk. The space, which has been undergoing thorough refurbishment and redesign by architecture studio ZMMA, is now the largest gallery in its region, and is set to become a key cultural destination for it. The refresh encompasses a new three-storey building, to house an entrance area, as well as four modern gallery spaces.
Gainsborough House reopening
To match the area's architectural language and the existing buildings on site, the new structure was composed in locally made brick and flint. These contemporary spaces are complemented by the careful restoration of the original, Grade I-listed late medieval, Georgian and Regency townhouse where the painter lived. As part of the complex, the open glass-faced Watering Place café and terrace offer connections to the garden as well as a place for visitors and the local community to gather, sit and relax to enjoy and take in the scenery.
'The powerful connection between the landscape surrounding Sudbury and its representation in Gainsborough’s work inspired us to create a new gallery building whose clay and flint materials are brought directly from Gainsborough’s Suffolk landscape. From the expanded museum campus, visitors will enjoy long views of the countryside beyond the town’s rooftops. Sudbury’s silk-weaving led us to make brickwork façades that appear woven, and to silk-line a new gallery for Gainsborough’s grandest canvasses. Gainsborough’s home has been reimagined and enriched to make complementary historic and modern settings for the museum’s displays,' says Adam Zombory-Moldovan, project director at ZMMA.
-
The bespoke Jaguar E-Type GTO melds elements from every era of the classic sports carECD Automotive Design’s one-off commission caters to a client who wanted to combine the greatest hits of Jaguar’s E-Type along with modern conveniences and more power
-
Casa Sanlorenzo debuts in Venice as a new hub for contemporary artThe luxury yachting leader unveils a stunning new space in a palazzo restored by Piero Lissoni – where art, innovation, and sustainability come together
-
Once vacant, London's grand department stores are getting a new lease on lifeThanks to imaginative redevelopment, these historic landmarks are being rebonr as residences, offices, gyms and restaurants. Here's what's behind the trend
-
Once vacant, London's grand department stores are getting a new lease on life
Thanks to imaginative redevelopment, these historic landmarks are being rebonr as residences, offices, gyms and restaurants. Here's what's behind the trend
-
Lego and Serpentine celebrate World Play Day with a new pavilionLego and Serpentine have just unveiled their Play Pavilion; a colourful new structure in Kensington Gardens in London and a gesture that celebrates World Play Day (11 June)
-
Inside Abbey Road's refresh: touring the legendary studio's new interiorAbbey Road gets an interior refresh by Threefold Architects, bringing the legendary London recording studio in tune with the 21st century
-
The Serpentine Pavilion 2025 is ready to visit, ‘an exhibition you can use’The Serpentine Pavilion 2025 is ready for its public opening on 6 June; we toured the structure and spoke to its architect, Marina Tabassum
-
A meticulously crafted artist’s space in east London evokes the area’s long creative historyMaich Swift Architects’ artist’s space has radically reconfigured a Victorian terraced house, transforming it into a contemporary live/work interior
-
Welcome to Omved Gardens, north London’s hidden green oasisThis secret space in Highgate is relaunching as a vibrant community hub with new spaces, activities and exhibitions
-
This contemporary cabin cantilevers over a Scottish lochRock Cove, Cameron Webster Architects’ contemporary cabin in Argyll, Scotland, makes the most of its wild setting
-
What to see at the London Festival of Architecture 2025June is all about the London Festival of Architecture 2025; we browsed the over 450-event rich programme for its highlights, so you won't have to
