{"id":778701,"date":"2025-03-27T07:12:18","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T07:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=778701"},"modified":"2025-03-27T08:13:22","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T08:13:22","slug":"astragal-chipperfields-first-major-uk-commission-under-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/astragal-chipperfields-first-major-uk-commission-under-threat","title":{"rendered":"Astragal: Chipperfield\u2019s first major UK commission under threat"},"content":{"rendered":"

This time<\/a> it\u2019s his 1997 River & Rowing Museum in Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire \u2013 the architect\u2019s first major UK project \u2013 which is facing closure.<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier this month, its director told the press: \u2018The costs to maintain the building and the collection are just outstripping any income.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

The museum said it was looking at how it could change its operations to stay open, but added: \u2018The options will almost certainly result in the museum closing in its current form, hopefully re-emerging as a more affordable and sustainable model.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

The changing financial climate is not the only threat. Changes to the actual climate have also caused problems. In January 2024, due to Storm Henk, flood waters made the entrance and car park inaccessible.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not so merrily, merrily, merrily then for Chipperfield\u2019s maiden gem.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Could go-karting save Aberdeen\u2019s Brutalist Norco House?<\/h3>\n

Scotland\u2019s \u2018Granite City\u2019 once hosted John Lewis\u2019s most northerly store in the 1970s concrete ziggurat Norco House, by Covell, Matthews and Partners. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now Aberdeen could become home to the most \u2018brutal\u2019 indoor go-karting track, thanks to a planning application to transform the bunker-like former shop into an entertainment destination. <\/span><\/p>\n

The proposals, submitted earlier this month, could also see bowling and arcade machines installed.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Twentieth Century Society, which had placed Norco House on its \u2018at-risk\u2019 register, told the AJ the re-use application was \u2018one of the most imaginative proposals we\u2019ve seen yet\u2019. <\/span><\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the campaign group added: \u2018From John Lewis to Lewis Hamilton? Bring it on!\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Norco House, Aberdeen<\/p>\n\t

Source: Savills<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This time it\u2019s his 1997 River & Rowing Museum in Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire \u2013 the architect\u2019s first major UK project \u2013 which is facing closure. Earlier this month, its director told the press: \u2018The costs to maintain the building and the collection are just outstripping any income.\u2019 The museum said it was looking at …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79700,"featured_media":778716,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[681],"tags":[1251,1366,1456,1440,1596,5915],"yoast_head":"\nAstragal: Chipperfield\u2019s first major UK commission under threat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Another day and another early David Chipperfield building is facing an uncertain future\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/astragal-chipperfields-first-major-uk-commission-under-threat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Astragal: Chipperfield\u2019s first major UK commission under threat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Another day and another early David Chipperfield building is facing an uncertain future\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/astragal-chipperfields-first-major-uk-commission-under-threat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Architects\u2019 Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-27T07:12:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-27T08:13:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/03\/13145754\/River-Rowing-Museum-Henley-scaled-1-1024x683.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Astragal\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Astragal\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/astragal-chipperfields-first-major-uk-commission-under-threat\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/astragal-chipperfields-first-major-uk-commission-under-threat\",\"name\":\"Astragal: Chipperfield\u2019s first major UK commission under threat\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-27T07:12:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-27T08:13:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/a36178a04bae863a114de5a74ff6f4e6\"},\"description\":\"Another day and another early David Chipperfield building is facing an uncertain future\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/astragal-chipperfields-first-major-uk-commission-under-threat#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/astragal-chipperfields-first-major-uk-commission-under-threat\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/astragal-chipperfields-first-major-uk-commission-under-threat#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Astragal: Chipperfield\u2019s first major UK commission under threat\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"The Architects\u2019 Journal\",\"description\":\"Architecture News & Buildings\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/a36178a04bae863a114de5a74ff6f4e6\",\"name\":\"Astragal\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/ba6bd396c701883a085380848bcf74c8\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9048c333971bccb20997afa9de6a58d1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9048c333971bccb20997afa9de6a58d1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Astragal\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/author\/astragal-2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Astragal: Chipperfield\u2019s first major UK commission under threat","description":"Another day and another early David Chipperfield building is facing an uncertain future","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/astragal-chipperfields-first-major-uk-commission-under-threat","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Astragal: Chipperfield\u2019s first major UK commission under threat","og_description":"Another day and another early David Chipperfield building is facing an uncertain future","og_url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/astragal-chipperfields-first-major-uk-commission-under-threat","og_site_name":"The Architects\u2019 Journal","article_published_time":"2025-03-27T07:12:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-03-27T08:13:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":683,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/03\/13145754\/River-Rowing-Museum-Henley-scaled-1-1024x683.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Astragal","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Astragal","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/astragal-chipperfields-first-major-uk-commission-under-threat","url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/astragal-chipperfields-first-major-uk-commission-under-threat","name":"Astragal: Chipperfield\u2019s first major UK commission under threat","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-03-27T07:12:18+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-27T08:13:22+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/a36178a04bae863a114de5a74ff6f4e6"},"description":"Another day and another early David Chipperfield building is facing an uncertain future","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/astragal-chipperfields-first-major-uk-commission-under-threat#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/astragal-chipperfields-first-major-uk-commission-under-threat"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/astragal-chipperfields-first-major-uk-commission-under-threat#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Astragal: Chipperfield\u2019s first major UK commission under threat"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/","name":"The Architects\u2019 Journal","description":"Architecture News & Buildings","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/a36178a04bae863a114de5a74ff6f4e6","name":"Astragal","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/ba6bd396c701883a085380848bcf74c8","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9048c333971bccb20997afa9de6a58d1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9048c333971bccb20997afa9de6a58d1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Astragal"},"url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/author\/astragal-2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778701"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/79700"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=778701"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":780447,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778701\/revisions\/780447"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/778716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=778701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=778701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=778701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}