Designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP) the newly completed British Museum's World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre is a key piece in the institution's significant extension scheme - which includes the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery, unveiled in March.
The new centre was commissioned in 2007, as a response to the museum's growing needs, both in terms of exhibition space and the protection and upkeep its collection. Now, the museum will have ample and suitably state-of-the-art spaces to store, conserve, study and display its pieces. 'For the first time ever, facilities are properly adapted to the needs of the museum,' says British Museum director Neil MacGregor. This project, which has been almost four years in the making, is not only aiming to highlight the renowned museum as a world leader of exhibitions, but also conservation and study of historical artefacts.
Located in the Bloomsbury complex's northwest corner, the building is set to greatly improve the museum's on site operations. 'Our main task was to solve issues that developed in the museum over the past few years,' explains RSHP's Graham Stirk. The site's preparation began in 2010 and the carefully executed construction work - sensitive to the existing buildings and the museum's irreplaceable collection nearby, and managed by Mace - is now reaching completion, with the final touches currently being added.
Its nine levels (about half of which are nestled underground) include naturally lit conservation rooms, laboratories, studios, offices and extensive modernised services and facilities to support all the various functions. Its truck lift for example, is one of the largest in Europe, while its environmentally controlled storage areas span approximately 5,100 sq m.
True to the practice's tradition, the building features exposed services and is created in a contemporary style, one however, that respects its historical neighbours. 'Yes, we were [intimidated by the context],' says Stirk. But the team worked towards maintaining the street's proportions, breaking down the addition's volume into smaller pavilions, clad in kiln-formed glass and Portland stone as a response to the area's existing material palette.
The British Museum's extension is a thoughtful addition to an iconic London neighbourhood, responding sympathetically to the rhythm and coloration of its surroundings; and developments are still ongoing. Future plans include a green roof across the pavilions, which will include bird nesting boxes and two beehives.
Located in the Bloomsbury complex's northwest corner (right), the new building is set to greatly improve the museum's on site operations
The site's preparation began in 2010 and the carefully executed construction work - sensitive to the existing buildings and the museum's irreplaceable collection nearby - is now reaching completion, with the final touches currently being added.
Its nine levels include naturally lit conservation rooms, laboratories and studios, offices and extensive modernised services and facilities to support all the various functions.
The museum will have ample and suitably state-of-the-art spaces to store, conserve, study and display its collection.
The extension scheme includes the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery, which was unveiled in March.
Clad in kiln-formed glass and Portland stone, the façade is a response to the area's existing material palette.
The spatial arrangement circles around two main elements; the primary, 'served' spaces and the secondary, 'servant' spaces.
Several circulation hubs connect the building's different floors, linking office and studio spaces with the storage facilities underground.
The project's environmentally controlled storage areas span approximately 5,100 sq m
ADDRESS
World Conservation and Exhibition Centre
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DG
-
Klára Hosnedlová transforms the Hamburger Bahnhof museum in Berlin into a bizarre and sublime new worldThe artist's installation, 'embrace', is the first Chanel commission at Hamburger Bahnhof
-
We test the all-new Asus Zenbook A14, a laptop shaped around new materialsAsus hopes its Ceraluminium-based Zenbook laptops will bring brightness and lightness to your daily portable computing needs
-
Paris art exhibitions to see in MayRead our pick of the best Paris art exhibitions to see in May, from rock 'n' roll photography by Dennis Morris at MEP to David Hockney at Fondation Louis Vuitton
-
Wild sauna, anyone? The ultimate guide to exploring deep heat in the UK outdoors‘Wild Sauna’, a new book exploring the finest outdoor establishments for the ultimate deep-heat experience in the UK, has hit the shelves; we find out more about the growing trend
-
A new London house delights in robust brutalist detailing and diffused lightLondon's House in a Walled Garden by Henley Halebrown was designed to dovetail in its historic context
-
A Sussex beach house boldly reimagines its seaside typologyA bold and uncompromising Sussex beach house reconfigures the vernacular to maximise coastal views but maintain privacy
-
This 19th-century Hampstead house has a raw concrete staircase at its heartThis Hampstead house, designed by Pinzauer and titled Maresfield Gardens, is a London home blending new design and traditional details
-
An octogenarian’s north London home is bold with utilitarian authenticityWoodbury residence is a north London home by Of Architecture, inspired by 20th-century design and rooted in functionality
-
What is DeafSpace and how can it enhance architecture for everyone?DeafSpace learnings can help create profoundly sense-centric architecture; why shouldn't groundbreaking designs also be inclusive?
-
The dream of the flat-pack home continues with this elegant modular cabin design from KotoThe Niwa modular cabin series by UK-based Koto architects offers a range of elegant retreats, designed for easy installation and a variety of uses
-
The Yale Center for British Art, Louis Kahn’s final project, glows anew after a two-year closureAfter years of restoration, a modernist jewel and a treasure trove of British artwork can be seen in a whole new light
