Building within a sculpture park prompts questions about the relationship between architecture and sculpture, as both are encountered through movement and cannot be understood in a single view. The Weston offered an opportunity to explore this shared spatial and embodied experience, drawing on sculptural approaches to form, scale and procession. Robert Morris’s Observatory was a key reference, in which the ground is shaped into concentric rings aligned with the equinox sunrise. A similarly strong axis was developed for the building, with a primary opening carved through the wall to form a deep threshold. The ground slopes gently downward, guiding visitors into the the space.

The site presented an unusual topography: a sunken depression formed by quarrying for millstone grit, a coarse sandstone likely used in the construction of Bretton Hall or its outbuildings. This condition offered the opportunity to conceive of a building hewn from the sedimentary rock strata beneath, allowing the existing topography to determine the tectonic experience. The site also forms part of the park’s north-eastern boundary, running parallel to the M1 and defined by an earth bank and fence line. This dual condition, at once an edge and an opening, creates a dramatic spatial contrast, opening westward to a cascading landscape that descends towards the Lower Lake, with views extending to Bretton Hall.

Constructed from layered, pigmented concrete that evokes the strata of the site’s sandstone bedrock, the building emerges from the former quarry and is defined by a concrete saw-tooth roof. The gallery features fair-faced concrete walls and is lit from above by rooflights integrated into the structure. A scalloped fibreglass crown creates a glowing beacon in the landscape at night. Embedded within the gallery walls are 10,000 unfired clay bricks that form a low-energy environmental control system, maintaining stable internal conditions while reducing the need for air conditioning. In contrast, the café is constructed from a Douglas fir timber frame, offering a lighter, more domestic atmosphere with a wood-burning stove and views across the surrounding landscape.

To celebrate the opening of The Weston, we published a short collection of written and visual essays documenting the journey to realise this project. The publication includes contributions from Founding and Executive Director Peter Murray, Director of Programme Clare Lilley, and artist Richard Wentworth.