R) Royal Academician Grayson Perry, Keeper of the Royal Academy Schools Eileen Cooper, Royal Academy Trustee Stephen Fry and President of the Royal Academy of Arts Christopher Le Brun(April 24, 2013 – Source: Oli Scarff/Getty Images Europe)
At a reception to celebrate the Topping Out Ceremony for the Keeper’s House today, Grayson Perry RA and Stephen Fry joined the President of the Royal Academy of Arts, Christopher Le Brun, Secretary and Chief Executive, Charles Saumarez Smith, and Keeper of the Royal Academy Schools, Eileen Cooper RA, to lay a symbolic brick in the Keeper’s House project. The ceremony marks an important milestone in the architectural redevelopment of the Keeper’s House.
The Keeper’s House will open in September 2013 transforming facilities for visitors and supporters. The major £6.5 million project has been led by award-winning architects Long & Kentish, with interior design by David Chipperfield Architects, new artworks by Grayson Perry RA and other Royal Academicians and catering by renowned restaurateur Oliver Peyton. The space includes a new restaurant, bar and walled garden and will provide a stylish sanctuary for artists and art lovers in the heart of Mayfair.
The renovation will allow the Royal Academy to offer more to Friends, Patrons, Royal Academicians and the general public through increased social spaces, extended opening hours and an exciting public programme featuring talks, debates, workshops and exhibitions.
Christopher Le Brun, President of the Royal Academy of Arts, said:
“This is a very exciting stage in the redevelopment of the Keeper’s House, the Royal Academy’s new home for artists and art lovers. With only a few months to go until we launch the new spaces to our Friends and the public, we look forward to working with a number of Royal Academicians in bringing the rooms to life with their inspiring ideas and designs. We thank Long & Kentish and David Chipperfield Architects for their imaginative plans to transform the building and to the contractor, Sykes & Son Ltd, for making it happen. However, none of this would have been possible without the generous support of the Friends of the Royal Academy, William and Maureen Shenkman, Sir Simon & Lady Robertson, Mr Richard S Sharp, American Associates of the Royal Academy Trust, Japanese Committee of Honour of the Royal Academy of Arts, Sir David & Lady Bell, The Coral Samuel Charitable Trust, Sir Nicholas Grimshaw CBE PPRA, Sir Ronald Grierson, Founding Supporters’ of The Keeper’s House and several other private donors who wish to remain anonymous, to whom we are extremely grateful.”
Rolfe Kentish, Architect, Long & Kentish, said:
“The Keeper’s House is a rare opportunity to work on a project which modernises the existing facilities and reveals the architectural history of this glorious building. From peeling back the layers of paint and plaster to expose the original brickwork and wooden beams of the house, to re-modeling the vaulted lower-ground floor and previous office spaces to create the new restaurant, and to inserting a glazed lift and staircase into an existing light-well, we have improved access and created unique spaces to meet the needs of today’s Friends and visitors.”
