The British Museum
The British Museum, London
We have had a long and successful relationship with the British Museum, working on a wide variety of projects as framework consultants. This has ranged from small, specific projects advising on displaying exhibits to gallery refurbishments and wider-ranging strategic advice.
Our relationship with the British Museum has been ongoing for 30 years. We are committed to understanding them as a client and use this knowledge to contribute strategically on projects that go well beyond the consideration of resolving the technical engineering challenges.
In recent years acted as structural engineers for the roof replacement project to the South Colonnade, which involved sensitive repairs to the roofs over the main entrance to the Museum.
In 2019 we delivered the phased refurbishment and extension of the White Wing, which involved inserting a 6-storey infill structure into the heart of the White Wing to create the Albukhary Foundation Gallery of the Islamic world. This new 620m² gallery presents the British Museum’s important collection of Islamic material culture in an innovative and accessible way. We worked as structural engineers to create world-class exhibition spaces that allow visitors to learn, gather and contemplate. The arrangement of the space, lighting and bespoke display cases was developed through lengthy discussions with the British Museum’s curators and conservators.
In 2020 we completed the refurbishment of the Sir Joseph Hotung Gallery of China and South Asia. At 115 metres long, it is the longest gallery at the British Museum, and has displayed its collection of Chinese and South Asian antiquities for over a century. We worked to refurbish and upgrade the existing space to meet the environmental needs of the museum in the 21st century. The project included a complete re-decoration, new lighting, and an opportunity for services upgrades to allow existing and new display cases to be conditioned. We carried out detailed investigations and appraisal of the existing structure to advise on the new display cases and artefact locations. We also designed the supports for the new hanging pendant lights throughout the gallery.
In 2024 we completed work as engineers for the restoration and refurbishment of the Reading Room, which has now reopened to the public and allowed visitors inside the Reading Room for the first time in over a decade.
Our recent input on the Masterplan with Wright & Wright Architects explored the phasing of major future projects and sequencing and logistics issues associated with undertaking major new construction and refurbishment within the occupied Museum.
Client: The British Museum
Architects: HoK, Nissen Richards Studio, Stanton Williams, Wright & Wright