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Hounslow
£10m to £49.99M
Listed Building - Grade I, Scheduled Ancient Monument, Within a Conservation Area
The Chiswick House and Gardens Trust was set up by English Heritage and London Borough of Hounslow, with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, to restore the historic grounds to the original design intent. The gardens at Chiswick are widely considered to be the birthplace of the English Landscape Movement. Our partner Joanne Sawicki was a founder Trustee, and she led the complex and challenging community consultation. The task was to unite the diverse community behind the ambitious proposals, which also included a brand new cafe building, within the vicinity of the Grade 1 listed Chiswick House. As part of the briefing process for the new cafe, we devised a pictorial questionnaire, distributed widely in paper-form and online to the local community. The results showed an overwhelming preference for a contemporary building, rather than one with classical references; this informed the architect selection process which we also managed. Architects Caruso St John were selected. The project has proved spectacularly successful with the public. Awards included the RIBA Award 2011, the RIBA London Building of the Year, and 2011 English Heritage Award for Sustaining the Historic Environment.