The Centenary Development fits within an overall upgrading strategy for the Tate Gallery building at Millbank, which aims to maximise the amount of public space on the two main floors, providing high quality, top lit galleries, to internationally recognised standards on the top floor together with a suite of temporary exhibition galleries on the ground floor.

This is achieved by the demolition of four of the existing galleries, building in the adjacent large courtyard and by complete renovation of the remaining perimeter gallery within the North West Quadrant.

The gallery's brief also calls for a second and equally important public access from Atterbury Street. This serves a spacious hall, beneath Gallery 9, off which the main circulation route connects to the new suite of temporary exhibition galleries, with the double height hall containing a generous staircase which will become the main circulation route between ground and gallery floors, and to the remainder of the ground floor, including the existing Whistler Restaurant and Café, and the new lavatories, cloakroom and bookshop.

The Centenary Development received a grant of £18,750,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund in 1997 and opened to the public in November 2001.

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