Four of museum’s most visited galleries to be given facelifts
Haworth Tompkins has been appointed to act as lead architect on the transformation of four of the Natural History Museum’s most visited galleries.
The £1.84m job will see the Stirling Prize-winning practice oversee the restoration of the museum’s Western Galleries, which include the Dinosaur Gallery, the Origins Gallery, the Old General Herbarium and the Swing Space.
Work is set to include creating two new lift and stair cores, toilets, a first-floor cafe, a Dino Shop, plant rooms, new ventilation and heating services.
The walkway running through the Dinosaur Gallery will also be dismantled and removed, the contents of the Botany Library will be decanted, and the internal fabric of the grade I-listed building restored where needed.
The job is set to run for at least six-and-a-half years and will cover RIBA stages two through seven, with the chosen team developing the base build design for the galleries and ancillary spaces while supervising other consultants working on MEP, accessibility and fire safety.
The team will also be asked to provide heritage, structural engineer, sustainability and principal design services on the scheme.
The fit-out of the galleries will comprise a second phase of the scheme and will be tendered separately.
The first works are expected to start in the Swing Space in Autumn 2027 and open in 2028, with the Botany Library and Old General Herbarium to reopen in 2029, the Dinosaur Gallery in 2030 and the Origins Gallery in 2031.
Haworth Tompkins is expected to sign its contract for the job on 31 August with its role officially starting on 7 September.
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