My project is about creating a private house
for the Duke of Sutherland and an ornamental space
for the display of the Bridgewater Collection, which
would negotiate open public access and the secretive
and discrete lifestyle of the client. The Bridgewater
Collection, owned by my client, is considered to be the
greatest private collection of ‘Old Masters’. It was part
of the famous Orleans Collection, bought indirectly
from the Duke of Orleans. The focus in my ornamental
design is the concept of ‘metamorphosis’, based on the
Titian’s series of paintings depicting Ovid’s mythology,
which manifests itself in anatomical transformation in
my naturalist ornament, perspectival transformation in
geometric ornament and material evolution of the column.
The controversial sale of the two Titians by the
Duke of Sutherland to the nation for £100 million, funded
by the ‘Campaign for the Titians’ has had many critics.
My proposal is to fund a new gallery in Hampstead Heath
by the National Trust, and as part of the deal, a private
house for the Duke of Sutherland would be built, under
the condition that the artworks remain publicly accessible.