In Pictures: An Extraordinary Building

The building, with its engineered steel space frame, is clad in gleaming white panels and eight-metre high glass facades.

Commissioned in 1974 and opened in 1978, the Sainsbury Centre was built to house the donation of Robert and Lisa Sainsbury’s collection.

“The building that we created together was to challenge many preconceptions about museums.” Norman Foster – architect of the Sainsbury Centre

“The Sainsburys shared a belief that the study of art should be an informal, pleasurable experience, not bound by the traditional enclosure of object and viewer.” – Norman Foster

"The Sainsburys gave their architect a surprisingly open brief and the enormous, adaptable interior which houses a range of functions from teaching, display and exhibition spaces to cafes, a restaurant and shop, was achieved by locating all the services the skin of the building."

“The light quality of the ceiling is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before at this scale – shimmering, playful, iridescent, disturbing, like a thousand Bridget Riley optical vibrations laid end to end.” – Charles Jenks

An Icon for the Region