Founded in 1768, the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is the oldest arts institution in Britain, located in Burlington House on Piccadilly, central London. The masterplan aimed to connect Burlington House (BH) and 6 Burlington Gardens (6BG), both Grade II* listed buildings, creating a new program for 6BG and unifying the entire complex. A key aspect was establishing a new public route linking the two buildings. This route begins at BH, descending into a brick-vaulted corridor lit by a suspended low-voltage track with uplights to highlight the vaults and spotlights to accentuate the casts along the path. The path then crosses a new in-situ concrete bridge into 6BG. The corridor is illuminated by recessed downlights, designed to match the bridge’s finish. A bespoke detail ensured that the downlights, through the sloped ceiling, aimed at the floor, avoiding glare for passers-by. At 6BG, the route passes through a gallery lit by track-mounted spotlights before reaching the main circulation spaces. These spaces are lit by custom pendants utilising the latest LED technology, ensuring well-lit areas without compromising light quality. Collaboration with a lighting manufacturer involved specifying luminaire requirements and fine-tuning light distribution through 1:1 mock-ups. The historic Lecture Theatre and Senate Rooms on the first floor are illuminated by larger versions of these custom pendants, promoting continuity throughout 6BG. The east and west science examination rooms, characterised by hipped mansard ceilings, originally had roof lights with sash windows. The project aimed to transform these rooms into new, daylit galleries by reinstating the original roof lights. To mitigate direct sunlight, a glazing system was used, featuring translucent glass to diffuse sunlight, a PVB interlayer for UV filtration, and a redirecting film to channel daylight towards the ceiling, thereby evenly illuminating the space below. All gallery spaces are lit by track-mounted spotlights controlled with the latest Bluetooth technology.
Royal Academy of Arts Masterplan London
Museums