{"id":362590,"date":"2026-01-10T10:08:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T10:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/362590\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T10:08:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T10:08:11","slug":"backers-in-talks-to-secure-cash-for-gehrys-swansong-uk-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/362590\/","title":{"rendered":"Backers in talks to secure cash for Gehry\u2019s swansong UK project"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Wimbledon Concert Hall Trust<\/a> has confirmed that work will go ahead on the project, issuing a statement in December which committed the organisation to bring Gehry\u2019s \u2018design for Wimbledon\u2019 to life and to \u2018endeavour to honour his extraordinary legacy\u2019.<\/p>\n

This was the first update on the scheme since 2023 and came shortly after the death of the internationally renowned Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry on 5 December<\/a>.<\/p>\n

First unveiled back in 2019<\/a>, the proposal is for a 1,250-seat venue on a site in south-west London currently used as a supermarket car park. The plans have been driven by former Hollywood film director Anthony Wilkinson, who is now the chairman of Wimbledon International Music Festival.<\/p>\n

Wilkinson said that Merton Council planners had recently confirmed their initial support for the project and he has now told the AJ that his team is currently in discussions to secure a lead donor, which would open the way to other funding, if successful.<\/p>\n

Wilkinson added that, once funding was in place, the concert hall could be open in a five years \u2013 making it probably the last of Gehry\u2019s buildings to complete in the UK. Talks concerning the development of a planning application are under way.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Exterior Model of Gehry\u2019s Wimbledon concert hall, credit: Wimbledon Concert Hall \/ Gehry Partners<\/p>\n

Wilkinson told the AJ: \u2018We are definitely planning to go ahead and see Frank\u2019s inspirational plans come to fruition.<\/p>\n

\u2018At a moment when technology is rapidly reshaping society, this centre will stand as a human counterbalance, nurturing those precious features that define us as human beings.\u2019<\/p>\n

Merton Council\u2019s cabinet member for housing, Andrew Judge, reiterated the authorities continued commitment to the plan. He said that, while he was saddened by Gehry\u2019s passing, \u2018no architectural scheme depends on an individual living person\u2019 and that a project can be \u2018brought to fruition following their passing by working with their creative team\u2019.<\/p>\n

Gehry has previously designed concert halls in Los Angeles and Miami and an open-air music venue in Chicago.<\/p>\n

Alongside the Wimbledon Concert Hall, the Gehry-designed Battersea Power station residential development phase 2<\/a> is also on track to be posthumously delivered, having received planning permission from Wandsworth Council in May. Construction on the two housing blocks has already begun, with completion projected for 2029.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Wimbledon Concert Hall Trust has confirmed that work will go ahead on the project, issuing a statement…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362591,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-362590","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-design","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362590\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}