It was 2005 when Tate St Ives announced its plans to expand. However, critics claimed that the museum’s expansion would be out of place in the small Cornish town, but posters stamped with slogans like “Stop the Tate” found their way to windows. It has taken a while for the gallery to find a work around but they have finally doubled the gallery’s size with an ingenious underground extension that cost £20m to construct. For the purpose, nearly 600 square meters of space was excavated into the hills, with engineers having to chisel 15 meters downward into the granite bedrock, creating a spacious cavity full of light. Designed by Jamie Fobert Architects, this will be the venue for temporary exhibitions, something the gallery has needed for a long time, notes The Guardian.Tate St Ives initially intended to exhibit only a permanent collection of the work of St Ives. Built in the 1990s, the gallery used to witness around 70,000 annual visitors. However, the number speedily rose and by 2004, around 250,000 people were walking through its doors each year. Expansion was an issue with year-round exhibitions, and then the 2005 protests happened. After looking for solutions for two years, which included considering other locales, they came to the conclusion that an underground extension, although expensive, would be worth the effort. In 2010, their plans got a boost with the neighboring landowner, Penwith Housing Association, selling the rear half of its site to Cornwall Council, which is Tate’s landlord.The new space has an impressive interior, featuring a wide hangar and a row of huge concrete beams across the ceiling, which lets in gentle rays of light into the room. In a sense, the aura of the place encapsulates the same inspiration that artists like Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth drew upon. With this extension, the gallery can welcome visitors throughout the year. The new space will serve as a flexible venue for seasonal exhibitions, as also staff offices, a workshop, and a full-fledged loading bay and art lift.Click on the slideshow for a sneak peak. Read more