Press Release
Extract of the press release published by the Museum of London
Museum of London announces exhibition design winner for first new museum galleries
The Museum of London today announces that ATELIER BRÜCKNER has won an international competition to help shape the Past Time galleries as part of the new Museum of London.
The display spaces will comprise of over 2,500 sq m of vast, atmospheric space underneath the General Market building in West Smithfield, which has not been open to the public since the late 20th century.
The shortlist comprised ZMMA, Casson Mann, Nissen Richards Studio, Atelier Brückner, Ralph Applebaum Associates, David Kohn Architects.
ATELIER BRÜCKNER, as part of the wider design team, will have the opportunity to help shape the design and content of the ‘Past Time’ (working title) display areas, which offer a unique, history-rich location to ignite London’s story.
ATELIER BRÜCKNER is a highly-regarded and award-winning international design studio. Their projects over the past decade include the Museum of Archaeology in Chemnitz, the Textile and Industry Museum in Augsburg, the Macallan Visitor Centre in Craigellachie, the Museum of Ethnology in Geneva, galleries at the National Maritime Museum in Amsterdam, and many more, and they are currently also working on the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo. This will be their inaugural project in London.
Located in vast, atmospheric subterranean spaces, this space will likely be the only museum gallery in the world to have a live railway running through it. The Thameslink trains in and out of Farringdon pass by the south-west corner, carrying thousands of passengers every hour at peak times. Integral to this area will be a dedicated space to showcase The Cheapside Hoard, for the first time since its exhibition in 2013, and treasures from the Goldsmiths’ Company’s Collection. The Goldsmiths’ Company Charity is a Founding Partner of the new museum and has pledged £10 million towards the project.
Sharon Ament, Director, Museum of London, said: “ATELIER BRÜCKNER offered a deeply thoughtful and exciting approach to design. They impressed us with their sophisticated thinking about how to stage the London Collection and balance that with the world-class experience we want our visitors to have. Their commitment to involving local communities in helping to shape the space is also something that chimes perfectly with our ethos here at the museum. For me, the Past Time galleries must be able to sit beside the best permanent galleries and displays in the world, it must have an enduring and universal quality.”
The new Museum of London will transform what a museum for London could and should be and will be designed by award winning architectural team Stanton Williams and Asif Khan with conservation architect Julian Harap. The project is a once-in-a-generation project that will breathe new life into a series of historic buildings at West Smithfield, creating a world-class visitor destination attracting over two million visitors a year.
For more press information please contact:
Laura Bates, Assistant Head of Communications at the Museum of London on 07966 990816 or lbates(at)museumoflondon.org.uk.