Tate Modern senior curator Mark Godfrey expects visitor numbers to rise following the opening of the extension / PHOTO: COURTESY OF TATE
The opening this June of the long-awaited expansion to London’s Tate Modern opens up a new world of opportunities to artists as well as visitors, according to Tate Modern senior curator Mark Godfrey.
Back in 2000, a derelict power station by the River Thames was transformed, by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, into the Tate Modern. The same architects are behind the newly opened extension building, which has been constructed on the site of the power station’s former Switch House. The 10-storey “twisted pyramid” adds 60 per cent more space.
Cylindrical underground tanks, which were formerly used to hold the power station’s oil, form the physical foundation of the 65-metre (213-foot) tall, 21,500sqm (230,400sq ft) building and provide space dedicated to live art, installation and film. The new floors above are connected by both lifts and a sweeping concrete staircase, while two bridges connect the Switch House with the Boiler House and the museum’s original facilities.
“Throughout the galleries we have more flexible spaces. In the basement are the tanks, huge circular areas, where there’s no daylight, but it’s rigged for performances and different types of live art,” says Godfrey. “It’s the kind of space I think that artists will come to and be inspired – respond to the possibilities, the shapes, the materiality, the concrete, the circularity of those spaces.”
The Switch House has cost a reported £260m ($345m, €310m) – almost £50m ($66m, €60m) more than expected. The Tate Modern currently receives 5 million annual visitors – a figure which is expected to rise in the years ahead.
“The second floor offers vast areas without pillars, creating very long sightlines. It can be partitioned, but we don’t need to regiment the space with walls,” Godfrey says. “The space offers a lot of flexibility in terms of how you might structure an exhibition or create conversations between artworks over quite a lot of space. There are also higher ceilings and natural light. Natural light is really important in several of the artworks we have in the collection – it really brings the work alive.”
“The third floor is a smaller space with possibilities for blackouts and film projections. On the fourth floor you’ve got two wonderfully proportioned galleries with high ceilings – and again it’s exciting to see how artists won’t just have their works placed here, but will respond to the space to create installations. There are so many ways in which an artist would look at the shapes, angles, textures, lighting, brickwork, and would be motivated by those factors,” he says.
The Switch House’s debut exhibit draws on work from across the Tate collection, with a focus on newly acquired works and an intention to show a more diverse array of international artists – from Lebanon, Nigeria, Turkey, Egypt, Ethiopia, Brazil, Japan and China – and more female artists.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2016 issue 3
Editor’s Letter: Place-Shifting
Technology is giving us the
power to Place-Shift experiences
to create on-demand, immersive
attractions in any location
Promotional Feature: EAS - Beautiful Horizons
The attractions industry is set to descend upon one of Europe’s
most inspiring cities – Barcelona. And if it’s inspiration
you’re looking for, the Euro Attractions Show is the place
Theme Parks: Desert Operations
On the brink of an entertainment revolution, Dubai looks forward to three major theme park openings. Attractions Management caught up with key decision- makers from the upcoming attractions
Mystery Shopper: Disney Delights
Disneyland Shanghai is the company’s first new theme park resort since 2005 and its biggest investment to date. TEA president-elect David Willrich went undercover to find out what Disney’s doing differently
Analysis: Part 3 - Benchmarking
Consultant David Camp asks how we measure success as he focuses on benchmarking and market penetration rates in part three of the series
Opinion: Media Frenzy
Is it time for media-based rides to raise their game? Gavin and Jason Fox, creative directors from Oscar-winning special effects studio Framestore, believe Hollywood-standard content is the next step for the industry
A view of London’s Tate Modern and new extension from the other side of the Thames / PHOTO: HAYES DAVIDSON
The multi-storey building, described as a “twisting pyramid” offers different perspectives and experiences on each level / PHOTO: IWAN BAAN
The Switch House was designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron and cost a reported £260m / PHOTO: IWAN BAAN
The galleries are designed to accommodate different styles of art, such as installation art, performance art and film / PHOTO: J Fernandes, TATE Photography
The galleries are designed to accommodate different styles of art, such as installation art, performance art and film / PHOTO: J Fernandes, TATE Photography
The galleries are designed to accommodate different styles of art, such as installation art, performance art and film / PHOTO: IWAN BAAN
Le Atelier by C.O.D.E. doesn't offer a standard bespoke service, it provides a highly
customised approach to designing massage beds and loungers in high-end wellness
environments. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
Kemitron GmbH
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portfolio is divided into four product areas; Technology, Fragrances, Disinfectant and Cleaners [more...]
Tate Modern senior curator Mark Godfrey expects visitor numbers to rise following the opening of the extension / PHOTO: COURTESY OF TATE
The opening this June of the long-awaited expansion to London’s Tate Modern opens up a new world of opportunities to artists as well as visitors, according to Tate Modern senior curator Mark Godfrey.
Back in 2000, a derelict power station by the River Thames was transformed, by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, into the Tate Modern. The same architects are behind the newly opened extension building, which has been constructed on the site of the power station’s former Switch House. The 10-storey “twisted pyramid” adds 60 per cent more space.
Cylindrical underground tanks, which were formerly used to hold the power station’s oil, form the physical foundation of the 65-metre (213-foot) tall, 21,500sqm (230,400sq ft) building and provide space dedicated to live art, installation and film. The new floors above are connected by both lifts and a sweeping concrete staircase, while two bridges connect the Switch House with the Boiler House and the museum’s original facilities.
“Throughout the galleries we have more flexible spaces. In the basement are the tanks, huge circular areas, where there’s no daylight, but it’s rigged for performances and different types of live art,” says Godfrey. “It’s the kind of space I think that artists will come to and be inspired – respond to the possibilities, the shapes, the materiality, the concrete, the circularity of those spaces.”
The Switch House has cost a reported £260m ($345m, €310m) – almost £50m ($66m, €60m) more than expected. The Tate Modern currently receives 5 million annual visitors – a figure which is expected to rise in the years ahead.
“The second floor offers vast areas without pillars, creating very long sightlines. It can be partitioned, but we don’t need to regiment the space with walls,” Godfrey says. “The space offers a lot of flexibility in terms of how you might structure an exhibition or create conversations between artworks over quite a lot of space. There are also higher ceilings and natural light. Natural light is really important in several of the artworks we have in the collection – it really brings the work alive.”
“The third floor is a smaller space with possibilities for blackouts and film projections. On the fourth floor you’ve got two wonderfully proportioned galleries with high ceilings – and again it’s exciting to see how artists won’t just have their works placed here, but will respond to the space to create installations. There are so many ways in which an artist would look at the shapes, angles, textures, lighting, brickwork, and would be motivated by those factors,” he says.
The Switch House’s debut exhibit draws on work from across the Tate collection, with a focus on newly acquired works and an intention to show a more diverse array of international artists – from Lebanon, Nigeria, Turkey, Egypt, Ethiopia, Brazil, Japan and China – and more female artists.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2016 issue 3
Editor’s Letter: Place-Shifting
Technology is giving us the
power to Place-Shift experiences
to create on-demand, immersive
attractions in any location
Promotional Feature: EAS - Beautiful Horizons
The attractions industry is set to descend upon one of Europe’s
most inspiring cities – Barcelona. And if it’s inspiration
you’re looking for, the Euro Attractions Show is the place
Theme Parks: Desert Operations
On the brink of an entertainment revolution, Dubai looks forward to three major theme park openings. Attractions Management caught up with key decision- makers from the upcoming attractions
Mystery Shopper: Disney Delights
Disneyland Shanghai is the company’s first new theme park resort since 2005 and its biggest investment to date. TEA president-elect David Willrich went undercover to find out what Disney’s doing differently
Analysis: Part 3 - Benchmarking
Consultant David Camp asks how we measure success as he focuses on benchmarking and market penetration rates in part three of the series
Opinion: Media Frenzy
Is it time for media-based rides to raise their game? Gavin and Jason Fox, creative directors from Oscar-winning special effects studio Framestore, believe Hollywood-standard content is the next step for the industry
A view of London’s Tate Modern and new extension from the other side of the Thames / PHOTO: HAYES DAVIDSON
The multi-storey building, described as a “twisting pyramid” offers different perspectives and experiences on each level / PHOTO: IWAN BAAN
The Switch House was designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron and cost a reported £260m / PHOTO: IWAN BAAN
The galleries are designed to accommodate different styles of art, such as installation art, performance art and film / PHOTO: J Fernandes, TATE Photography
The galleries are designed to accommodate different styles of art, such as installation art, performance art and film / PHOTO: J Fernandes, TATE Photography
The galleries are designed to accommodate different styles of art, such as installation art, performance art and film / PHOTO: IWAN BAAN
The Standards Authority for Touch in Cancer Care (SATCC) charity has announced its first five-
day Living with Cancer and Beyond retreat, which will be held at Carden Park Hotel and Spa in
Cheshire, UK, between 1 and 5 September.
Patmos Aktis, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, has opened in Greece, with a renovated and
rebranded wellness offering called Ansana Wellness and Spa.
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, an Autograph Collection property in Hawaii, US, has opened its
22,000 sq ft indoor-outdoor Spa at Mauna Kea as the final step in the property’s overall
renovation, which has cost more than US$180 million (€166 million, £140 mill
The UK spa review and discovery platform for consumers, the Good Spa Guide, has announced
it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House
Hotel in St Albans, UK.
Eighty-four per cent of consumers now say wellness is a top priority in their lives, with this
percentage increasing year on year, according to a preview presentation of McKinsey’s Future of
Wellness 2026 research report.
Mass protests have been taking place since Monday 1 June in Albania over the development of
a luxury resort by Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
Global Wellness Day (GWD) marked its 15th anniversary on Saturday 13 June 2026, with the
theme: #JoyMagenta – a celebration of the healing qualities of simple gestures and activities
that spark joy.
Global luxury hospitality brand, Six Senses, has partnered with longevity healthcare provider,
HUM2N, to launch a clinic at Six Senses London, at The Whiteley.
As part of its first hotel partnership, Mayrlife – the medical health resort company known for its
site in Altaussee, Austria – has launched a day clinic at the Rosewood Vienna.
Premium London health club, KX Chelsea, will imminently unveil its most significant
redevelopment since its launch in 2002 to create an integrated wellness model combining
training, recovery and relaxation.
Le Atelier by C.O.D.E. doesn't offer a standard bespoke service, it provides a highly
customised approach to designing massage beds and loungers in high-end wellness
environments. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
Kemitron GmbH Our
portfolio is divided into four product areas; Technology, Fragrances, Disinfectant and Cleaners [more...]
