Modern Art Oxford is housed in the former City Brewery building, designed in 1878 by Harry Drinkwater.
The project focused on improving visual appearance, lighting and acoustics, while enhancing navigation and circulation, to create a more welcoming and inclusive venue.
A key space is the new ground-floor gallery which has been designed with flexible display structures to host exhibitions that involve local artists and communities, part of the gallery’s drive to strengthen creative engagement of visitors.
With much of the building’s historic fabric remaining intact, DKA looked to reveal and celebrate features such as the cast-iron columns and original brickwork, which recall the building’s industrial past while giving a rhythm and character to the gallery spaces.
A new shop and café – designed by British artist Emma Hart – is designed to both enhance visitors’ enjoyment of the gallery and support its economic sustainability. The building’s services and energy performance have also been upgraded.
Architect’s view
We have focused on the sequence of spaces from the street to the gallery – choreographing visitors’ movements from the busy public realm outside, and refreshing their senses so that they can immerse themselves more fully in the displays. Our new ground-floor gallery complements Modern Art Oxford’s other spaces – engaging local audiences and drawing in people who might not have historically felt so welcome.
It has been a real pleasure to work with director Paul Hobson and his team on the redevelopment programme. Modern Art Oxford is now a much more flexible and welcoming setting for contemporary art programming, and we have enjoyed working with them to harness their building to attract and build new audiences.
David Kohn, founding director, David Kohn Architects
Source:David Kohn Architects
Project data
Start on site June 2024
Completion October 2024
Gross internal floor area 600m2
Project cost £2,000,000
Project cost per m2 £3,333
Architect David Kohn Architects
Client Modern Art Oxford
Structural engineer Mike Wilford Associates
M&E consultant Method
Quantity surveyor Ridge
Project manager Ridge
Principal designer David Kohn Architects
Approved building inspector Socotec
Main contractor Kingerlee
Artist Emma Hart
Graphic designer Kellenberger White
Joinery Weber Industries
Café fabrication The White Wall Company
Lighting design TM Lighting
CAD software used Vectorworks
CO2 emissions Not available