One of the main objectives was to restore the palace’s interior to its former glory in time for a new exhibition focusing on one of its most famous residents, Queen Victoria, who was born there. The key challenge was to integrate new elements into an iconic building without impacting on its historical integrity, including a loggia which was built on the eastern façade of the building as the new visitor entrance.
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Nearly 20 tonnes of excavated sand was taken to a specialist to be made into bricks, which were used to build an extension to house a new shop and café.
A water feature was also installed around the Queen Victoria statue and extensive landscaping works were completed. Our sympathetic restoration and improvement work is a good example of best practice in a heritage environment.
Flooring, doors and ironmongery were repaired and reused where possible. Most of the stone removed during renovation and over 1,700 tonnes of topsoil was reused on site or relocated to Kensington Gardens, and the site hoarding timber was given to charity. This helped to minimise the amount of waste generated by the project.
As part of the Historic Royal Palace charity’s £12 million 'Welcome to Kensington – a palace for everyone' project, works were completed in time for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics.
(CD/GK)
