The New Entrance

As part of the redevelopment of Kensington Palace, HJRP sought to create a new entrance on the East Front which would restore the orientation of the palace to the main east-west axis created by Sir Christopher Wren in the 1690s. This axis runs not only through the palace but also through the park beyond and placing the new entrance on this axis was a key component in reintegrating the palace and the park.

The position of the new entrance structure on the most publicly visible facade meant that much was required of this relatively small structure. It had to clearly demarcate the entrance without the use of signs and create an appropriate sense of occasion at entering a palace. However, Kensington Palace is comparatively domestic in scale and the East Front was historically the garden side of the palace and therefore relatively informal. The proportions of the East Front had also been detrimentally affected by the addition of render in the nineteenth century. Furthermore, the structure needed to be freestanding so as not to impact on the historic fabric.

A loggia structure was selected in response to its garden location and decorated with garden motifs. Its Regency style not only allowed for the creation of celebratory structure in honour of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee but also connects the loggia to the Regency rooms that are located on this side of the palace. The design also drew directly on the cast iron structure on the south side of the palace that marked the garden entrance to Princess Margaret's apartment. The new entrance loggia combines all these influences to create an entrance structure that responds to both the palace and the garden and which also gives a taste of the exciting new methods of interpretation used inside the palace.