Trio of conservation practices awarded places on Kew Gardens framework

Acanthus Clews, Hugh Broughton Architects and Martin Ashley Associates have been awarded places on a £4m design framework for Kew Gardens in South London.

The three practices were chosen from a 10-strong shortlist for the four-year deal, which will include conservation, refurbishment and newbuild jobs at the 260-year-old botanic garden and its sister site at Wakehurst in Sussex.

Work will also include condition surveys of existing structures, development of feasibility studies, procurement advice and preparation of planning applications for listed buildings.

Possible projects at Kew include refurbishment of the grade I-listed Orangery, which was built in 1761 to designs by Somerset House architect William Chambers, who also built Kew Gardens’ world-famous pagoda.

Other projects could include conservation of Kew’s grade II-listed Japanese gateway and of the grade II*-listed ruined arch, a folly built in 1760, along with the design of an irrigation system, a rethink of the visital arrival areas and re-roofing projects across Kew and Wakehurst.

Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, which operates the two sites, said it currently has a “significant defect liability that requires action”. The backlog of the most urgent works was drawn up in 2018.

A £4m quantity surveying framework for the programme was awarded earlier this month to Artelia, Huntley Cartwright and Firmingers, and another £4m framework for building services was awarded to consultants Hoare Lea, Martin Thomas Associates and Stantec.

A number of schemes have already been completed at Kew Gardens in recent years, including the restoration of the grade I-listed Temperate House by Donald Insall Associates in 2018.

HOK’s new timber kitchen and shop opened in 2021, and last year architecture educators Matt+Fiona were appointed to work with children to design a treehouse at the site for an event celebrating “the power of trees”.