Benoy’s Branded Environments team have been shortlisted for a major project led by the British Museum as part of a wider design team led by OMA. Together, we are one of five design teams shortlisted from a pool of over 60 applicants from across six continents.
The scheme to develop the museum’s ‘Western Range,’ is part of a decade-long renovation masterplan unveiled late last year that has been billed as one of the ‘most significant cultural redevelopment projects ever undertaken’.
The competition has been set up to select a team that will work with the Museum to reimagine over a third of its gallery space. Stage two will run until December 2024, after which there will be a display of the shortlisted candidates’ entries in the Museum’s iconic Round Reading Room. The outcome of the competition will be announced in early 2025.
The winning team will work with experts across the British Museum to develop designs for the Western Range that respond to the Museum’s sensitive historic buildings, ambitious decarbonisation plans, and the ongoing process of reimagining the display and care of collections. The Western Range holds a third of the museum’s overall gallery space, as well as significant back-of-house areas, totalling 15,650 square meters. The complex of buildings range in age from the original 1850s buildings designed by Robert Smirke, to later additions such as Gallery 10 and 22. All of the buildings are in need of upgrade to meet contemporary building performance standards, and many contain highly significant heritage building fabric.
Benoy Branded Environments have a significant track record working with significant UK cultural institutions including the V&A Museum, the Science Museum, Tate Modern, Somerset House, the Imperial War Museum and most recently the National Portrait Gallery as part of their major ‘Inspiring People’ renovation project.
