Albertopolis Walking Tour: transcript - Royal Institute of British ...

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1. Start: Exhibition Road Entrance to Victoria and Albert Museum – Aston Webb screen 0.00mins To begin our tour of the Exhibition Road Cultural Quarter we start at the southern end of Exhibition Road, outside the Groups Entrance to the V&A. The low-level building you see before you is quite literally a link between science and art, a fitting way to start our tour of Albertopolis. One of Prince Albert’s intentions for the area was the encouragement of the study of both the arts and science. The structure in front of you is effectively a screen, designed by the architect Sir Aston Webb screen, 2010 Aston Webb, which joins the Victoria Photographer: Susan Pugh and Albert Museum, an internationally renowned arts collection on the right, with the former Science Schools building on the left, (now the Henry Cole Wing of the V&A). The screen was erected in 1909 to hide the original boiler house of the museum which lay behind. Such an industrial space wasn’t suitable or attractive enough for Exhibition Road, so Webb was commissioned to design something to mask it from view. Although relatively small the Classical screen he created is effective and imposing, with its square Corinthian columns above a heavy-looking rusticated base. The solidity of this base is emphasised by the many pockmarks you see along it, all resulting from bomb damage during the Second World War. Turning to the left or northwards up Exhibition Road, we now look to the Henry Cole Wing of the V&A, or the former Science Schools. Pause the recording 2
2. Henry Cole Wing of V&A 1.27mins To the north or left of where we are standing is a striking Italianate red brick building now known as the Henry Cole Wing of the V&A. It has had many different names since it was built in 1871, including the Science Schools, the Royal College of Science, and the Huxley Building. It was originally built as a School of Naval Architecture, to contain laboratories and teaching rooms. The initial plans for the building were made by Francis Fowke, however he died before work began. General H.D.Y. Scott, who also worked on the Royal Albert Hall, took over the project and completed the building with the assistance of James Gamble and J.W. Wild. This was the first building of the Department of Science and Art to have a prominent position on Exhibition Road, so a showy front was required. Scott designed an impressive seven-bay elevation with one-bay projections at either end topped with a pediment. Red brick and lots of terracotta decoration ornamented in Minton majolica were used, following the style evolved by Cole, Fowke and Sykes at the South Kensington Museum. An elaborate decorative scheme was devised, based on Sykes’ decoration of the museum’s Lecture Theatre building, (now the north wing of the Madejski Gardens). The terracotta columns on the ground floor exterior are identical to those on the Lecture Theatre front. On the top floor of the building are more ornate columns, producing a long open arcaded balcony or loggia. In 1974 the building was converted to house the Department of Prints, Drawings & Photographs of the V&A and renamed the Henry Cole Building. A new link structure was built to join it to the museum, whilst also creating a new entrance on Exhibition Road. Before we leave this side of the Exhibition Road it’s worth noting the traditional red telephone kiosk between the Aston Webb screen and the Henry Cole Wing. This iconic telephone box design, known as the K2 type, was created by Giles Gilbert Scott in 1927, and some of the drawings for it now in the RIBA Drawings and Archives Collections. Interestingly Scott was the grandson of Sir George Gilbert Scott, the architect of the Albert Memorial. All surviving original red telephone boxes are now listed buildings, and as such are part of our protected heritage. Turn to face the other side of Exhibition Road to view the large, Classical stone building opposite, the Science Museum. Pause the recording Henry Cole Wing, 1871 Reproduced by permission of English Heritage. NMR 3
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Albertopolis Walking Tour: transcript - Royal Institute of British ...

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