Six design teams shortlisted to bring fire-ravaged Clandon Park mansion back to life

British conservation charity the National Trust has announced a shortlist of six architects in the running to rebuild Surrey’s Clandon Park: a historic Palladian mansion that was gutted by a fire in 2015.

An international design competition, organised by Malcolm Reading Consultants, was launched in March 2017 to find a multi-discipline team to restore the 18th century Grade I listed building.

Sixty groups submitted designs for the re-imagined building, which will include galleries, a visitor centre, a cafe and retail space.

The six shortlisted teams are:

• AL_A and Giles Quarme & Associates with Arup and GROSS.MAX

• Allies and Morrison and Feilden + Mawson with Price & Myers, Max Fordham, Tom Stuart-Smith and Nissen Richards Studio

• Donald Insall Associates and Diller Scofidio + Renfro with Price & Myers, Max Fordham, Tom Stuart- Smith and Barker Langham

• Purcell and Sam Jacob Studio with Arup, QODA, Churchman Landscape Architects and Brendan Cormier

• Selldorf Architects, Martin Ashley Architects and Cowie Montgomery Architects with Arup, Vogt Landscape and Jorge Otero-Pailos

• Sergison Bates Architects and AOC Architecture with Philip Hughes Associates, Price & Myers, Ritchie + Daffin, Tom Stuart-Smith and Graphic Thought Facility

The project brief called for an “outstanding aesthetic and material quality in the rebuild,” and demanded visions of a “compelling visitor experience” that will appeal across generations and persuade visitors to return.

Each team was requested to show how they would restore the ground floor and basement of the fire-ravaged building, while transforming the less architecturally significant upper floors into spaces for exhibitions, events and performances. Designs had to remain true to the original building and use salvaged materials where appropriate.

Detailed plans and models of each of the shortlisted designs will be viewable to visitors of Clandon Park between August 23 and October 1, before a jury made up of heritage, architectural and local experts selects a final winner to develop the project further.

Funding will primarily come from the building's insurance payout. Additional support has been acquired through a National Trust fundraising campaign.

Construction of the project is expected to start in 2019, provided that the plans receive planning permission.

Commenting on the competition, Clandon Park’s project director Paul Cook said: "It’s exciting to be at this stage, when we can see the thought processes and ideas from the six shortlisted teams come to life.

“Whilst the concepts are not final designs for Clandon, they take us a step closer to choosing a team who will help us restore and rebuild this grand place."

AL_A and Giles Quarme & Associates with Arup and GROSS.MAX

"The moment of entering the ruin of Clandon today is exciting and visceral. We have held onto that sensation and found ways of ensuring that feeling resonates through the entire house."

Allies and Morrison and Feilden + Mawson with Price & Myers, Max Fordham, Tom Stuart-Smith and Nissen Richards Studio

"Our instinct is to welcome the found layers within its walls, to find exactly the right balance of old and new for each space."

Donald Insall Associates and Diller Scofidio + Renfro with Price & Myers, Max Fordham, Tom Stuart- Smith and Barker Langham

"Rethinking the conventions of the building and redefining Leoni’s legacy, the project will reinterpret the historic rooms through careful conservation, meticulous recreation, and contemporary insertions in a narrative that unfolds through a sequence of spaces."

Purcell and Sam Jacob Studio with Arup, QODA, Churchman Landscape Architects and Brendan Cormier

"Leoni’s Marble Hall, which operates like a distinct internalised building within Clandon’s architectural arrangement, will be skilfully restored. Alongside this, three new internal villas are created, all imaginative and engaging."

Selldorf Architects, Martin Ashley Architects and Cowie Montgomery Architects with Arup, Vogt Landscape and Jorge Otero-Pailos

"The landscape experience is extended by a new curvilinear Arrival Path which brings visitors to a west forecourt where they will enter at a new loggia."

Sergison Bates Architects and AOC Architecture with Philip Hughes Associates, Price & Myers, Ritchie + Daffin, Tom Stuart-Smith and Graphic Thought Facility

"We re-describe the house as sumptuous, vivid and remarkable – using the critical act of conservation to define characters of space with material presence."

Further information on the designs, including architect videos, can be found on the competition website.