Max Fordham worked with Jamie Fobert Architects on the extension to Tate St Ives, having worked with Evans and Shalev Architects on the original gallery, opened in 1993.

The 600sqm extension is home to exhibitions of contemporary works, as well as art-handling facilities, offices, and storage. Max Fordham provided environmental engineering design for the project, as well as acoustics consultancy.

Tate St Ives is the product of seamless integration of strong architectural ideas and exemplary environmental design. Jamie Fobert noted that ‘our main material for the project was daylight’.

We modelled the precise lux levels allowed by international standards for the display of art, from which the architect generated their form for the building. Six lightwells draw in the soft Cornish light - that has made this area so appealing to generations of artists - in a controlled manner. These lightwells also dramatically reduced the lighting energy use in the gallery as well as improving the visitor experience.

The Tate St Ives extension has secured a BREEAM rating of "Very Good".

This project continues our long association with Tate, having worked on all of their galleries around the country.