Tate Britain will build “Mediterranean inspired” gardens and a nature classroom for children after being granted planning permission.
Westminster City councillors voted unanimously to approve the proposal during a planning meeting last week.
The plan includes East Asian-style green spaces, a new water feature and an event space.
Tom Stuart-Smith, whose studio was lead designer for the gardens, said the new layout will offer visitors “a sequence of experiences”.
He told councillors during last week’s meeting: “[To] the south, Mediterranean-inspired planting around a new pond. To the north, a wooden character beneath the plain trees.
An artist’s impression of the new gardens (Tom Stuart-Smith Studio/Feilden Fowles/WCC)
“Across the site carefully chosen plants will bring seasonal interest: blossoms in spring, fragrance and colour in the summer, foliage and colour in autumn and strong architectural forms in the winter… The result is a landscape that evolves throughout the year, rewarding the repeat visits and connecting people with nature’s cycles.”
He said the current layout was “static and unwelcoming” and said new plans offer visitors more than “130,000 different ways to explore” the gardens.
He also claimed it would become one of the most biodiverse spaces in central London with the introduction of 300 different plant species.
Tate Britain director Maria Balshaw told councillors the proposal was an “exceptional opportunity” to transform the front of the museum.
She said: “Within Tate, we know not everyone feels museums are for them. But with the creation of this special garden space, it will allow us to extend a different kind of welcome, which compliments the more formal façade of our original home.
“The new garden will help break down barriers for those visitors who find the steps intimidating. It will help welcome them to the museum and signal clearly that Tate Britain is a place where everyone belongs.”
All five members of the planning committee approved the plans but asked the Tate to employ Westminster City residents to participate in the redevelopment.
The gallery’s Millbank entrance will be redesigned (Tom Stuart-Smith Studio/Feilden Fowles/WCC)
The proposal includes the construction of the garden classroom where children can receive creative, hands-on learning.
The timber-framed pavilion will be placed between the Tate Lodge and Clore Gallery and will be a learning space for schools, community groups and volunteers.
Under the plans, the Grade II listed curved railings at the Millbank entrance will be moved forward to “unify” both sides of the gardens.
The taxi rank next to the entrance will be moved to Atterbury Street.
Inside the planned garden classroom (Tom Stuart-Smith Studio/Feilden Fowles/WCC)
There are also plans to remove hedges and other hard surfaces to make way for new paths, seating, artworks and lighting.
Works by artists Nathan Coley, Angus Fairhurst, Tony Cragg, Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth will appear in the garden.
The development will come in two sections, with the landscaping and garden classroom built in Phase 1.
The rest of the development, which relates to highway works, will take place under Phase 2.
The scheme is expected to be completed next year.
The Tate Britain is the oldest of the four Tate galleries and is one of London’s most significant art museums, dating back to the mid-19th century.
Originally opened in 1897 as the National Gallery of Art, it was established to house the growing collection of British art bequeathed by Sir Henry Tate, a sugar magnate and philanthropist.
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