The Clore Learning Centre is a new resource for Hampton Court Palace, comprising a single storey reception building and the refurbishment of the 17th century Barrack Block to provide education facilities for visitors to the Palace. This is the most significant building to be built at Hampton Court for more than 150 years and presented a rare opportunity to integrate a new building within a highly significant historic landscape.

Hampton Court Palace is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and development of this scheme required continuous and careful dialogue with English Heritage. The project demanded a thorough understanding of the historic site with a particularly sensitive approach to the design of this major new building which was funded by the Clore Duffield Foundation.

The new single-storey steel-framed building provides teaching and exhibition facilities to help visitor groups interpret the history of Hampton Court Palace. The Learning Centre is oriented to create a new external courtyard and two tall roof ventilation stacks provide contemporary references to Hampton Court's iconic chimneys. Use of traditional handmade bricks and roof tiles further place the building within its context.

A new planting scheme takes inspiration from the site’s former use as a kitchen garden and the new building serves as a backdrop for a number of commissioned artistic installations. The sustainable design achieves low energy consumption through high insulation, natural ventilation and daylighting, assisted by harnessing the structure itself to create a zero U-Value wall.