Clandon Park Shortlist Announced

The six teams were selected from the sixty first-stage entries that were submitted in April of this year. The competition, run by the National Trust and Malcolm Reading Consultants, is geared at "bringing new life" to the Trust's listed Clandon Park, which suffered a major fire in April 2015.

Per the competition website, "The fire in April 2015, thought to have been caused by a manufacturing fault in an electrical board, left only a small portion of the house unscathed. However, the house’s brick superstructure, the Speakers’ Parlour, and architectural features in its celebrated Marble Hall survived."

Furthermore, "The Trust envisages a sensitive and thoughtful restoration of some of the principal state rooms on the ground floor along with the introduction of new spaces, for imaginative programming, on the upper levels. The brief to architects who reach the design stage of the competition asks that the two elements confidently relate to each other and create a building that reads as one, and which is integrated within its setting."

The competition brief asked entrants to:

• Work with the existing building structure, but consider its immediate setting within the garden
• Restore damaged historic interiors and principal state rooms on the ground floor and basement – including the Marble Hall, Saloon, Library and Speakers’ Parlour, State Bedroom and the vaulted historic kitchen
• Introduce new flexible event spaces on the first floor to be used for gallery and exhibition programming
• Consider visitor facilities including catering and retail outlets
• Create a careful and accurate restoration, making use of salvaged materials, with the introduction of more modern spaces and technology where appropriate

With the six architect-led teams now selected, their concepts go on display for public comment. Those unable to visit Clandon Park from 23 August to 1 October 2017 can email the competition organizers with comments.

The six shortlisted teams are listed below, but visit the competition website to see more images of their concept design.