A new contemporary art and design gallery is set to open in the Greenwich peninsula.

Designed by architect Marks Barfield, it is a free, permanent public art space.
Its exhibitions will show for three months each, featuring commissions from well-known and upcoming artists and designers.

Simon Heijdens will be the first artist to showcase his work. His site-specific immersive installation Shade opens on September 17, coinciding with the London Design Festival.

A responsive covering on the gallery’s 7m tall windows will react to the wind outside, creating a kaleidoscope of shadows within.

These patterns will be reversed come evening, as light inside the building will project shadows outside, appearing similar to a lighthouse.

For an area this unique, NOW Gallery Curator Jemima Burrill says each "exhibition needs to be something which submerses the gallery space, and has a presence of its own".

She said: "Whether it’s through colour or through different types of materials, it needs to own the space."

For the art exhibition planned for January, and the fashion exhibition in May, she is "interested in work which has a connection to Greenwich Peninsula". Heijdens’ piece is designed with the area’s wind in mind.

NOW is part of the ongoing regeneration of the area around The O2 by Knight Dragon, which includes housing developments and a community centre.