Last week Tate Modern revealed a first set of photographs of Herzog & de Meuron’s highly-anticipated Switch House extension, set to open to the public on 17 June.

The new ten-storey high structure sits atop Tate’s live art and film space The Tanks at the south east corner of the former Bankside Power Station – the existing building which Herzog & de Meuron converted into the main gallery space in 2000. The power station was originally designed in the 1950s by Giles Gilbert Scott, and Herzog & de Meuron’s new addition responds, in height, to the chimney of the existing structure.

The brick exterior, too, references the materials of Scott’s original power station building. The brickwork of the new extension, however, is perforated to form a kind of filter over the windows, creating playful interactions of light within the internal spaces.

Photography: Iwan Baan