Archinect - News

UK Housing Secretary issues final go-ahead for Museum of London and Bastion House demolition

2024-05-21T16:05:00-04:00

The UK's Housing and Communities Secretary Michael Gove has approved the planned demolition of the Museum of London building and Bastion House near the Barbican. The go-ahead makes way for the revised Sheppard Robson and Diller Scofidio + Renfro-led scheme that would deliver a new office block to the site following the culmination of demolition work in 2033.

The decision marks the end of a tumultuous back-and-forth between preservationists and the planning authority. Many have criticized the demolition's carbon footprint, despite the design team's promise to reuse 90% of the materials on-site in the construction of the new building, prompting Gove to issue an Article 31 order last month before casting his final approval on May 17th.

Previously on Archinect: Diller Scofidio + Renfro/Sheppard Robson's London Centre for Music replacement inches closer after planners grant local approval

Barbican Quarter Action (or BQA), the main group leading its opposition, has said to Londonist that t...

Starry shortlist of architects for London’s new Center for Music

2017-07-11T20:38:00-04:00

The viability of building a major new concert hall in London has been widely debated, and the future of the Center was thrown into doubt last November, when the British government withdrew its commitment to contribute 5 million pounds (about $6.4 million) to pay for a business plan. The City of London Corporation stepped in with 2.5 million pounds (about $3.2 million) to allow project to go ahead.

The shortlist for the future home for the London Symphony Orchestra and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama was announced on Monday and consists of AL_A, Foster + Partners, Renzo Piano, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Gehry Partners, Snohetta , all of which have extensive experience working on cultural buildings.

The center which will include a concert hall with up to 2,000 seats, as well as education and training spaces, will be located in what is currently the Museum of London, designed by Hidalgo Moya and Philip Powell in the 1970s. The building is estimated to cost 200 million to 250 million pounds ($257 million to $322 million) to construct and is to be covered by private and philanthropic donations.

"The shortlisted architects have been asked to provide detailed designs as well as estimated costs, and the winner will be announced this fall."

Asif Kahn and Stanton Williams to design new Museum of London

2016-07-28T16:46:00-04:00

Asif Kahn and Stanton Williams will design the new Museum of London, beating out competition like BIG and Caruso St. John from the shortlist of six architects. Their winning design features a dramatic domed hall with a central staircase down into the museum's excavated subterranean space.

Currently located at the Barbican, the museum will relocate into a much larger, Victorian-era, Grade II-listed building, which used to house several markets. The new design also includes a sunken garden. The new museum is tentatively scheduled to be built in 2022.

h/t the Spaces

In related news:

Museum of London design shortlist revealed

2016-06-10T14:41:00-04:00

Smithfield market will be the museum’s new home, but which architectural vision should shape its future: the eye-catching one, the ghostly one, the corporate one … or the one that rings alarm bells? Little detail has been revealed about the shortlisted schemes, which will go on public exhibition from 10 June to 5 August with a winner chosen by an expert panel later this summer.

Curb your cultural curiosities with the articles below:

Museum of London gives a tour of its new Smithfield site

2016-05-23T09:57:00-04:00

The museum is planning to move from its present landlocked home within the Barbican with no entrance at street level, into a cathedral-sized space, using the abandoned Victorian general market at Smithfield, next door to the famous meat market. “Our job is to make this the best museum in the world,” Ament said, carefully stepping around pigeon droppings and pools of water in the old market, which has been empty for the last 30 years while developers and conservationists fought over its fate.

The Museum of London have high expectations and high hopes for this monumental space, set to open it's doors in 2021. There is even a working train line running through the central space, a feature Ament is desperately keen to keep.

Shortlist for new Museum of London revealed

2016-04-04T10:43:00-04:00

Caruso St John, Stanton Williams with Asif Khan, and BIG in a team with Hawkins\Brown have been shortlisted to design the Museum of London’s new home in Smithfields. The shortlisted teams saw off 80 entries from more than 140 practices and were chosen based on their relevant skills and experience, in particular of significant cultural projects. The competition will create a £150 million new base for the Museum of London in the historic West Smithfield market.

Also selected:

Lacaton & Vassal Architectes with Pernilla Ohrstedt Studio
Diener & Diener Architekten with Sergison Bates Architects, East Architecture and Graphic Thought Facility
Studio Milou architecture with RL & Associés, Axis Architects and Alan Baxter Associates

Read more articles relating to the chosen practices here: