New £3.6m visitor centre at Yorkshire Sculpture Park to open this weekend

Yorkshire Sculpture Park's new visitor centre will open to the public this weekend.
Yorkshire Sculpture Park's new visitor centre will open to the public this weekend. Courtesy of YSP. Photo  Mike Dinsdale, courtesy William Birch.Yorkshire Sculpture Park's new visitor centre will open to the public this weekend. Courtesy of YSP. Photo  Mike Dinsdale, courtesy William Birch.
Yorkshire Sculpture Park's new visitor centre will open to the public this weekend. Courtesy of YSP. Photo Mike Dinsdale, courtesy William Birch.

The £3.6million centre, which features a restaurant, gallery space, public foyer and shop, has been shortlisted for the 2019 RIBA Yorkshire Awards, which recognise the best in British architecture.

Designed by architects Feilden Fowles and constructed by Yorkshire-based company William Birch, the centre will be named The Weston, a nod to the significant support from family grant-maker, The Garfield Weston Foundation.

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Yorkshire Sculpture Park's new visitor centre will open to the public this weekend. Courtesy of YSP. Photo  Mike Dinsdale, courtesy William Birch.Yorkshire Sculpture Park's new visitor centre will open to the public this weekend. Courtesy of YSP. Photo  Mike Dinsdale, courtesy William Birch.
Yorkshire Sculpture Park's new visitor centre will open to the public this weekend. Courtesy of YSP. Photo Mike Dinsdale, courtesy William Birch.

Peter Murray CBE, Executive and Founding Director of YSP said: “We’re excited to complete construction on The Weston which is an important part of Yorkshire Sculpture Park’s future.

"The new centre is a reflection of our ambition to increase long-term resilience and sustainability by building audiences, further developing our artistic programme, and increasing visitor income.

"We are very grateful to the many different organisations who have made this project possible, including our visitors who have provided invaluable support.”

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The building has been designed to fit in with the existing landscape at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, close to Wakefield, which last year welcomed 480,000 visitors.

Construction of The Weston was supported by a number of funders, including Arts Council England, Wakefield Council, The Wolfson Foundation, B&M Retail Plc and The Foyle Foundation.

Visitors to the park also contributed more than £50,000 in donations to the project.

The Weston will open its doors to the public on Saturday, March 30, 2019.

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