We are pleased to announce during Open House Festival 2024, the Centre will host Architect-led tours on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September, 11am – 12.30pm.
The architectural tours – led by SIRS Architects Co-Founder Manuel Irsara – will visit the building’s spaces and provide visitors with insights into the project’s history and its making.Tours will be free but booking is essential due to limited capacity. Book your tickets here.
SIRS Architects converted a former industrial building in London’s East End into Gilbert & George’s art foundation, breathing new life into the historic fabric of the area and seeking to immerse visitors in the unique realm of Gilbert & George through a sequence of spaces and built details.
The Centre will also be open to the public 11am – 6pm, during our Open House Festival 2024 drop in days: Saturday 14 & Sunday 15 September, and Wednesday 18 to Sunday 22 September. Visit Open House Festival for full details.
Further project information
The Gilbert and George Centre can be found on 18th century Heneage Street, situated in the Brick Lane and Fournier Street Conservation Area. Upon arrival, visitors are greeted by a hand-forged wrought iron gate, before entering through a secluded cobbled courtyard, featuring a film room that introduces the “World of Gilbert & George. A dimly lit reception area leads to three contemporary exhibition spaces of different scale and feel providing a discrete setting for the artists’ large-scale creations.
The Centre has been thoughtfully converted from a 1820’s former brewery building, most recently in residential use. By combining preserved, restored and contemporary elements, the project honours the building’s industrial past aligning with the artists’ vision of heritage, architectural spaces and art display.
The brief required a challenging approach to create sufficient space for the Centre’s transformation on a restricted site. A new basement level was constructed under the building’s pre-existing footprint and a new above-ground side extension was added.
Spitalfields has been Gilbert & George’s home and subject since the mid 1960s. The Centre is an extension of the artist’s “Art for All” ethos and aims to become a leading cultural institution – committed to free access for all members of the community – as well as providing a permanent home for an unrivalled artistic legacy by welcoming visitors from across the globe.