Visitor centre, new archive and state-of-the-art storage facilities at the home of Britain's foremost sculptor
Hugh Broughton Architects worked closely with the Henry Moore Foundation to devise a phased masterplan that would transform the sculptor’s rural Hertfordshire estate into a 21st century cultural and visitor attraction over the course of a decade. We prioritised refurbishing and repurposing existing buildings while ensuring all new elements are finely crafted, beautifully detailed and sensitive to the spirit and materiality of the site, its landscape and its famous former inhabitant.
A state of the art, 1,300 sqm sculpture store replaced the crumbling barns in which Moore had stored his bronze, plaster and timber pieces. Borrowing from the rural vernacular, this modern barn features blackened oak cladding and a simple, pitched zinc roof. It offers three distinct temperature controlled zones for different materials, including paper and tapestry, and a packaging and shipping area with secure loading porch.
Visitor facilities were inadequate and outdated. We refurbished and extended the former office building, Dane Tree House, removing Moore’s photography collection and other archive materials to a new, dedicated space. Dane Tree House has been wrapped within a two-storey, grey-stained sweet chestnut and glass pavilion.
The ground floor features reception facilities, a shop, accessible toilets, an education space and a large café which stretches out onto a terrace overlooking the gardens. Offices and meeting rooms are on the ground and first floor, with a cantilevered section which offers views onto the Sculpture Gardens.
The third and final component, the archive, is set back near a discrete but expanded car park. Every item in the collection was measured and storage capacity designed to accommodate all needs over the next 50 years. The original Elmwood house has been fully refurbished and extended, with a new monopitch wing added which responds to the original’s form and proportions.
Clad in oxidised steel panels, it contrasts with Moore’s bronzes and complements the surrounding woodlands. A timber lined reading room with louvred corner window and a fully glazed entrance pavilion allow views inside and out. Heating and cooling to both new and old buildings is through a shared ground source heat pump, with natural ventilation and projecting canopies to south facing elevations which minimise solar gain.
Process
Cladding concept details
Sculptures store concept view
Visitors centre CGI
Setting out the archive
Archive CGI
