ISPA Conference & Expo
ISPA Conference & Expo
ISPA Conference & Expo

£60m Science Museum transformation underway

by Katie Buckley | 12 Sep 2014

The evolution of London’s Science Museum is now well underway, with several ‘starchitects’ being named to design its new galleries, while a new exhibition space is now set to open on 25 October.

Universal Design Studio’s Communication Gallery

The impending gallery, designed by Universal Design Studio, is the first in the UK to be entirely dedicated to the history of information and communication technologies.

Boasting 2,000sq m (21,528sq ft) of exhibition space, the gallery will feature more than 800 objects from the last 200 years, tracking the phenomenal breakthroughs that the world has seen in the realm of communication.

Filling one of the Science Museum’s largest exhibition spaces, the £16m (US$26m, €20m) Information Age Gallery has a 6-metre high aerial inductance coil at its centre, which was once part of the most powerful radio transmitter in the world.

Zaha Hadid’s Maths Gallery

Zaha Hadid Architects has been chosen to design the new mathematics gallery, planned to open in 2016, in the Science Museum’s historic main building.

At a price tag of £5m (US$8m, €6.3m) - the sum donated by the David and Claudia Harding Foundation - the gallery aims to explore the stories, tools and ideas behind mathematics, making it accessible and fun to the general public.

Hadid said: "The design explores the many influences of mathematics in our everyday lives; transforming seemingly abstract mathematical concepts into an exciting interactive experience for visitors of all ages."

View from East gallery entrance, Science Museum Mathematics Gallery - Zaha Hadid Architects

Muf Architecture’s Interactive Gallery

Another recent announcement, and also due to open in 2016, Muf Architecture/art has been appointed to design a £4m (US$6.5m, €5m) Interactive Gallery, encapsulating the awe of science and maths.

Karen Livingstone, director of the museum's masterplan, said the board was impressed with Muf’s “collaborative approach, strong design and bold vision for the new gallery.”

An internal plan of the gallery, aiming to increase visitor movement and interaction - Muf Architecture/art

Wilkinson Eyre’s Medical Galleries

Despite Wilkinson Eyre’s £150m (US$243m, €188m) masterplan for the Science Museum being rejected in 2011, the London-based practice has come back into the fold to design £24m (US$38.9m, €30.1m) worth of Medical Galleries for the iconic institute.

The new galleries will take up the entire first floor of the the museum, covering 3,000sq m (32,292sq ft) of space, and will house objects that explore the last 400 years of medical science.

The Medical Galleries should be completed in time for a 2018 opening. Jim Eyre, director of Wilkinson Eyre Architects, said: “We are very pleased to be working with the Science Museum again and look forward to embarking on the design of these object-rich gallery spaces."

Rendering of the first floor Medical Galleries from Wilkinson Eyre

Coffey Architects’ Library and Research Centre

Coffey Architects, another London-based practice, has been picked to design a £1.8m (US$2.9m, €2.3m) library and research centre for the Science Museum - a further part of the five year masterplan - due to open in 2015.

The new public facility will fill the first floor and ground floors of the institution's Wellcome Wolfson Building, completed by MJP Architects in 2004.

Practice director Phil Coffey commented:"The scheme itself is a simple idea to recreate the feeling of sitting under a tree, on a summer’s day, reading a book… offering a unique space with a strong identity to be enjoyed by both casual and academic users."

Coffey Architects' airy research space offers a quiet place for reading and study

The Science Museum’s Masterplan will transform around a third of the world-renowned museum over the next five years. Currently in the first stage, the overall project amounts to roughly £60m (US$97m, €75m). This has been raised through a combination of generous donations and grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Related stories
09 Sep 2014

Muf wins Science Museum's new gallery contest

27 Jun 2014

Star names in running to design UK Science Museum transformation

The evolution of London’s Science Museum is now well underway, with several ‘starchitects’ being named to design its new galleries, while a new exhibition space is now set to open on 25 October. Universal Design Studio’s Communication Gallery The impending gallery, designed by Universal Design Studio, is the first in the UK to be entirely dedicated to the history of information and communication technologies. Boasting 2,000sq m (21,528sq ft) of
VAT,HAM,AAC,PRO,ARC,DES,CLD
The Science Museum's major revamp is well underway, with several big names behind the designs
More news
News stories: 1 - 30 of 7782     
 
 
 
News stories: 1 - 30 of 7782     
 
 
 
company profile
Company profile: The Wellness
Based in Dubai, Hong Kong, and Singapore, The Wellness are the next generation of wellness consultants providing spa, fitness, hydro engineering and leisure related concepts for the global Wellness markets.
Try cladmag for free!
Sign up with CLAD to receive our regular ezine, instant news alerts, free digital subscriptions to CLADweek, CLADmag and CLADbook and to request a free sample of the next issue of CLADmag.
sign up
Alex Michaelis’ design firm has a strong portfolio of luxury residential properties. This time, he used his professional skills to build a healthy house of fun for his family
"I firmly believe that homes are for children as much as they are for adults"

Alex Michaelis and his partner have seven children. He designed their home to be full of fun

The exterior concrete panels were inspired by the surrounding rock and ice formations
Peter Irmscher, senior architect, Zaha Hadid
"The brief said you had to be able to walk through it with ski boots on"

A year on from the opening of Zaha Hadid’s Messner Mountain Museum, project architect Peter Irmscher talks us through the highs and lows of the development

Catalogue Gallery
Click on a catalogue to view it online
To advertise in our catalogue gallery: call +44(0)1462 431385
features
Studio founders Antonio Cruz Villalón (left) and Antonio Ortiz García
Antonio Cruz
"We were set the target of building one of the five best stadiums in the world"

Shares the challenges of designing Atletico Madrid's new stadium

The Baltic Center for Contemporary Art, UK
Patrick Bellew, founder, Atelier Ten
"It’s a wonderful extension to the existing modernist MOMA museum by Snohetta"

Working with Zaha Hadid, Heatherwick and more, Atelier Ten helps create sustainable buildings. Patrick Bellew speaks out

Bing Thom’s Xiqu Centre is purpose-built for Chinese opera performances
"We’re going into unknown territory. That’s where real innovation can occur"

It’s an ambitious experiment for Hong Kong, but will the West Kowloon Cultural District turn out to be a white elephant or a new model for development in the city?

features
After working for Christian Liaigre in Paris, Mahdavi launched her practice in 1999
"I never thought it was a talent. I just did it very naturally, without thinking"

The ‘queen of colour’ on her nomadic childhood, being fearless and choosing the exact right shade of pink for the Sketch Gallery restaurant

The rooms, which were previously uniform in appearance, now each have their own identity
Jacu Strauss acted as creative director on the restoration of the hotel
"We were able to start from scratch and have the hotel create its own brand identity"

As the Pulizter Amsterdam is relaunched, creative director Jacu Strauss talks about working in a UNESCO World Heritage location

7. Elmsbrook Bicester will have 6,000 well homes when complete
"The Healthy New Towns initiative aims to design out ‘obesogenic environments’ and design in health and wellbeing"

The UK government is building 10 new towns based on health, with wellbeing incorporated from the ground up. Stu Robarts investigates

cladkit product news
Eden project uses drones to spell out climate change warning
Magali Robathan
Almost 300 drones were used to signal an environmental message above the Eden Project’s biomes, during the UN Climate Change ...
Codelocks develops new glass door smart lock
The new lock model allows facilities and building managers to create and manage access via an app or online portal
Megan Whitby
Codelocks has launched its first glass door smart lock to bring intelligent access control to modern spa, leisure, fitness and ...
Jaffe Holden helps bring Academy Museum of Motion Pictures alive
Jaffe Holden provided architectural acoustics for the Academy Museum
Magali Robathan
Acoustical consulting firm Jaffe Holden provided architectural acoustics and audio/video design services for the recently opened Academy Museum of Motion ...
cladkit product news
Koto Design introduces wood-fired hot tub
Koto is known for crafting modular, energy-neutral cabins and homes
Katie Barnes
A striking wood-fired hot tub has been unveiled by Koto, an architecture and design studio which has a passion for ...
Eco Resort Network conference to convene in Mauritius this May
The event will be hosted in the Mauritius in 2024
Megan Whitby
Hospitality industry event Eco Resort Network is set to take place at the Ravenala Attitude Hotel, Turtle Bay, Mauritius, from ...
Mather & Co and ITV unite to create Coronation Street Experience
Mather & Co has transformed the visitor centre into the ultimate haven for ardent Coronation Street viewers
Magali Robathan
Experience designers, Mather & Co, have orchestrated a remarkable collaboration with ITV to unveil the new Coronation Street Experience, a ...
cladkit product news
Alberto Apostoli and Newform collaborate to launch the A.Zeta showerhead
The showerhead offers two modes; rainfall or waterfall
Megan Whitby
Italian architect Alberto Apostoli has renewed his partnership with Newform – an Italian wellness company – and designed A.Zeta. A.Zeta ...
Alberto Apostoli designs tech-forward Wellness Therapy furniture collection for Varaschin
The furniture collection draws on absolute geometries, pure lines, neutral colours and strong references to nature
Megan Whitby
Furniture manufacturer Varaschin has unveiled the new Wellness Therapy range, designed by Italian spa and wellness architect and designer Alberto ...
Siminetti unveils iridescent decorative panelling range inspired by plants
The Clematis design
Megan Whitby
The Botanicals is Siminetti’s newest Mother of Pearl decorative panelling collection, inspired by the distinctive patterns found in botany and ...
x
Sign up with CLAD for regular news updates
ISPA Conference & Expo
ISPA Conference & Expo