The Government Art Collection

We are currently working with The Government Art Collection (GAC) on a wayfinding strategy and designs for their new public viewing room at The Old Admiralty Building.

The GAC is a unique cultural resource that promotes British art by placing works in UK Government buildings worldwide. The Viewing Room will act as a public space where artworks from the collection can be viewed up close.

This Way was appointed to improve visibility and navigation from The Mall and Trafalgar Square and enhance visitor experience creating an intuitive, accessible and inclusive wayfinding scheme. In order to animate the internal entrances to The Viewing Room and welcome visitors, we designed and implemented a hand painted mural that covered the entire façade.

Dazzle camouflage, also known as dazzle painting, was a family of ship camouflage used in World War I and World War II. Credited to the British marine artist Norman Wilkinson, it consists of complex patterns of geometric shapes in contrasting colours, interrupting and intersecting each other. Dazzle was adopted by the Admiralty in the UK, this strong connection to The Old Admiralty Building provided inspiration for the super graphic, creating a bold identity for The Viewing Room. 

The matt heritage colour palette reflects the archival watercolour designs and ensures that whilst striking and disruptive the application is sympathetic to the original architectural features.

Further phases of the project are to follow including the design and implementation of external and internal wayfinding signage, entrance plaques and digital displays within the public spaces.

The Viewing Room is scheduled to open in 2023.