Victoria Miro Private Collection Space

The Victoria Miro Private Collection Space is housed in a new building that has been erected on the roof of a Victorian brick warehouse in Islington.

Exterior
As intended, the new 800m2 extension is a significant urban gesture, expressing its art content through a sculptural architectonic configuration that complements both the requirements for viewing the collection and the
abstract look of the building.

The materials and features of the design have been specially chosen with this in mind: the external white rendering gives a sense of lightness and abstraction, in contrast to the earthy weight of the existing building.

The subtle wave of the façade and the slight protrusion of the bronze canopy intensify this sculptural effect, softening what would otherwise have been a plain and rigid box. The overall presence of the extension is therefore assertive but not intimidating, rigorous and yet also imaginative, sculptural and at the same time functional.

Interior
A dramatic staircase numbering 72 steps – stretched on a continuous line and sandwiched between gigantic walls – leads to the top floor. Here the collection is on view in a generous space of 400m2, the main room measuring 8 x 28m with a 6m-high ceiling. Glass windows, 5m high, face east and south, bathing the space in natural light.

A surprise twist is present in the choice of the flooring material: intense dark- rown wooden boards are used throughout the space and on the staircase which leads to the viewing rooms on the 400m2 lower level, and to the library and study on the upper level. This movement away from the concrete flooring of most contemporary art galleries suggests a warm and intimate domestic space.
Here, Art, Architecture and natural Light complement one another, exhibiting a simple splendour that at the same time maintains their individual identities: thus the feeling of serenity when experiencing the space.