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C O N T E X T 1 5 7 : N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 8 49 LYALL THOW Royal Academy’s art of reconnection At 6 Burlington Gardens, London, the Royal Academy of Arts has reawakened an unloved Victorian building and connected it with the RA’s old home at Burlington House. This year marks the 250th anniversary of the foundation of the Royal Academy of Arts. On 19 May, the RA opened the doors of 6 Burlington Gardens to invite in the public after an ambi- tious project that had been in the making for 10 years. This reawakening of an old, unloved Victorian building and its interconnection with the RA’s old home at Burlington House has significantly improved a number of the principal historic spaces while introducing new contem- porary interventions informed by the original architecture. 6 Burlington Gardens was originally designed by James Pennethorne in 1866 as the University of London’s Senate House. The north eleva- tion presents itself as a grand classical public building with ornate detailing in homage to Burlington House, while the rear elevation is essentially brick and more utilitarian in char- acter. Pennethorne decorated the main facade with figurative sculpture representing famous figures in science, literature, law and medicine, representing the humanist, liberal-minded aspi- rations of the university. The original building once accommodated a three-storey-high lecture theatre and a double-height library. The univer- sity relocated in 1899 and subsequent modifica- tions to the fabric occurred to accommodate its later inhabitants. Significantly, Pennethorne’s original lecture theatre and library were stripped out to create new offices for the Civil Service Commission, and further works undertaken in the 1920s created a suite of interiors for the first home of the British Academy. The RA purchased 6 Burlington Gardens in 2001 with the intention of expanding into the space. The state of the existing building and physical separation from the RA’s Burlington House were key issues addressed by the master plan that commenced in 2009. The master plan led by David Chipperfield Architects (DCA) resolved the connection of the site by proposing a new public route from Burlington House, through the former art-handling areas, into the The decorative scheme for the Central Senate Room