WHY and WILDING x WHY to Transform Hathill House at Goodwood Art Foundation
Goodwood Art Foundation has appointed WHY to transform Hathill House, a Modernist residence in the Foundation’s 70-acre grounds in West Sussex, England. WHY’s architecture studio will renovate the house, and WILDING x WHY, the firm’s landscape practice, will shape the landscape around it.
Built in 1975, Hathill House was designed by F. Heather Hughes and John P. Lomax for the collector and developer Charles Kearley. It later became the home of the art patrons Wilfred and Jeannette Cass. The Goodwood estate acquired the house in 2020 as the first step toward the not-for-profit Goodwood Art Foundation. The project will open the house to the public for the first time.
The Foundation opened in May 2025 with an exhibition by Rachel Whiteread. It brings together contemporary art, landscape and learning across the Schwarzman Gardens, designed by Dan Pearson. Hathill House will join the Foundation’s two galleries by Studio Downie Architects.
WHY’s design spans two floors. It includes spaces for exhibitions, talks, lectures and events, along with a full art library. The design keeps the character of the mid-century house while opening up its views. WILDING x WHY’s landscape connects the house again to the gardens and woodland around it. The house will become a year-round center for thinking and making, where art, architecture and nature meet.
“When I went there for the first time, I was trying very hard to be very open-minded,” said Kulapat Yantrasast, founder and creative director of WHY. “I wanted to hear the whispers of what this place needed.”
“There’s a sense of humility and a sense of intimacy that a lot of the time larger museums or larger rooms do not have,” he said. “I really approached the Hathill House renovation with that in mind.”
“I hope, at a time when people are looking again for meaning, connection and time outdoors, Hathill House will be a place to look closely, gather, learn and belong, as well as a place to see art,” he added.
The Duke of Richmond, Founder and Patron of Goodwood Art Foundation, said the redevelopment “represents an important next step, expanding our ability to present world-class art, grow our learning programmes, and create new spaces for dialogue, ideas, and cultural exchange.”
In a later phase, WHY is also designing a new pavilion for the Foundation, with landscape by WILDING x WHY. Set into the ground, it will be a flexible space for major international exhibitions, with room for conferences, symposiums and social events. “In the design of the pavilion, we want to create the most flexible pavilion that can house the most notable international art exhibitions in the world,” Kulapat said.
Rendering of Hathill House, Goodwood Art Foundation. Image: Lightfield London