New home: Museum of London reveals winning plans for West Smithfield move
![The Museum of London gearing up](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WQGsfoVqFKRZHyWwi6deCc-415-80.jpg)
After long outgrowing its island-like location within the London Wall roundabout next to the Barbican, the Museum of London is gearing up to move to a new home at West Smithfield, where it hopes to double visitor numbers. After a tumultuous battle regarding the future of the 25,000 sq m site in question, which also houses the historic Smithfield meat market, a competition was launched, calling for submissions to imagine the museum’s new space.
The winner has now been announced, with Stanton Williams and Asif Khan granted the auspicious commission. Their vision – a sharp, contemporary design which acknowledges the extant tactile power of the existing West Smithfield space – includes a new listed landmark dome; innovative spiral escalators connecting the ground level with an excavated underground chamber; and a new sunken garden and other green spaces.
Says Paul Williams, director of Stanton Williams: 'Encountering the historic market spaces for the first time in early April this year, we were "blown away" by the power and physicality already existing, and knew then, that whatever scheme we developed, this physicality needed to be harnessed, and not lost, and that initial observation has inspired our initial design proposals. This project will engage a broad community well beyond London.'
Proposals were submitted by six teams in all, featuring an array of internationally renowned firms. These also included Bjarke Ingels Group, Caruso St John, Lacaton & Vassal Architectes, Diener & Diener and Studio Milou. Their early-stage design concepts remain on display in an exhibition at the Museum of London until 11 September.
BIG collaborated with Hawkins\Brown, Donald Insall and Gehl Architects to propose a large cantilevered vitrine which stretches out over the street below. Caruso St John Architects partnered with Alan Baxter Associates to present a clean and refined scheme, which proposed the insertion of a series of pavilions within the space.
Meanwhile, Swiss firm Diener & Diener Architekten, Sergison Bates Architects, East Architecture and Graphic Thought Facility envisioned a wire-framed rooftop reconstruction of the site's once-existing cupola. Lacaton & Vassal Architects, Pernilla Ohrstedt Studio, Allies and Morrison and Alan Baxter Associates opted to preserve the context and integrity of the site with as little intervention as possible. Finally, French firm Studio Milou collaborated with RL& Associés, Axis Architects and Alan Baxter Associates to propose a structure which included a giant mirror adorning the museum entrance.
The shortlist of entries was judged by a panel of well-known figures from the fields of the arts, property, media, architecture and business, chaired by BBC television and radio presenter Evan Davis. Each proposal was selected due to its high quality of design and innovative nature, while taking cues from the existing structure and urban context.
Of the winning entry, Davies states that, 'After a lot of discussion, a clear winner emerged. Stanton Williams and Asif Khan offered some really innovative thinking, and managed to combine a sensitivity to the heritage of the location, with a keen awareness of the practicalities of delivering a really functional museum.'
Stanton Williams and Asif Khan will now work alongside the museum to refine their ideas, ensuring that the design is sensitively carried out through the historic site. Formal planning will be submitted in 2018, with the completion date mooted for 2022.
The design also includes escalators connecting the ground level with an excavated underground chamber.
Says Paul Williams, director of Stanton Williams: ’Encountering the historic market spaces for the first time in early April this year, we were "blown away" by the power and physicality already existing, and knew then, that whatever scheme we developed, this physicality needed to be harnessed’
The other early-stage design concepts remain on display in an exhibition at the Museum of London until 11 September. Pictured: Lacaton & Vassal Architectes, Pernilla Ohrstedt Studio, Allies and Morrison, and Alan Baxter Associates’ proposal aimed to preserve the context and integrity of the site with as little intervention as possible.
BIG – who collaborated with Hawkins\Brown, Donald Insall and Gehl Architects – proposed a large cantilevered vitrine, stretching out over the street below.
French firm Studio Milou, RL& Associés, Axis Architects and Alan Baxter Associates’ vision included a giant mirror, which would adorn the museum entrance.
Swiss firm Diener & Diener Architekten, Sergison Bates Architects, East Architecture and Graphic Thought Facility envisioned a wire-framed rooftop reconstruction of the site’s once-existing cupola, responding to both the market’s existing structure and its historic context.
An inside glimpse into Diener & Diener’s bright and spacious proposal.
Each of the shortlisted proposals was selected due to their high quality of design and innovative nature. Pictured: Caruso St John Architects partnered with Alan Baxter Associates to create a pastel shaded scheme which was clean and refined, proposing the insertion of a series of pavilions within the space.
INFORMATION
Shortlisted plans will be on view at the Museum of London until 11 September. For more information, visit the Museum of London’s website
ADDRESS
Museum of London
150 London Wall
London, EC2Y 5HN
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Tom Howells is a London-based food journalist and editor. He’s written for Vogue, Waitrose Food, the Financial Times, The Fence, World of Interiors, Time Out and The Guardian, among others. His new book, An Opinionated Guide to London Wine, will be published by Hoxton Mini Press later this year.
-
Commune’s sustainable personal care products look ‘quite unlike anything else’
Commune’s Somerset-made products stand out in the sustainable skincare crowd. Madeleine Rothery speaks with the brand’s co-founders Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux
By Madeleine Rothery Published
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
Tour the Natural History Museum’s new gardens, a Jurassic lark in London
The Natural History Museum in London has unveiled two new gardens, with resident dinosaurs, after a transformation led by architects Feilden Fowles
By Bridget Downing Published
-
Drama Republic moves into a colourful, handcrafted workspace in London
For the new creative HQ of production company Drama Republic, Emil Eve Architects remodels a warehouse into office space in London’s Holborn
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Hideaway House in London features timber panelling inspired by the New York hospitality scene
The elegantly refurbished Hideaway House by Studio McW in London features timber panelling inspired by Philip Johnson’s The Four Seasons Restaurant
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
An Uxbridge annexe by Bureau de Change is a design for effortless intergenerational living
Uxbridge Bower, a residential annexe in west London, is a contemporary addition offering both privacy and connection for the needs of a family
By Tianna Williams Published
-
‘Modern Buildings’ tours south-east London through a guide to post-war Blackheath and Greenwich
‘Modern Buildings: Blackheath and Greenwich’ is a detailed survey of a London borough’s rich trove of new modernist architecture
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Triangle House invites you to its inner world of colourful surprises
Triangle House by Artefact is a private home in Epsom, outside London, combining Caribbean style, colour and functionality
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Tour the refreshed Saint Andrew Holborn: an icon reveals its crisp new interior in London
DaeWha Kang reimagines Saint Andrew Holborn church through a sensitive architectural solution that blends tradition and modernity in London
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A Suffolk house by Studio Bark pairs a fresh visual language with low-energy design
Suffolk house Water Farm is off-the-grid but defiantly on the map, a bold new object in the landscape with a strong visual impact and minimal carbon footprint
By Jonathan Bell Published