In the British Museum's re-opened Reading Room there are five 'new visions' with models and respective outline of thoughts put together by five internationally acclaimed architectural teams.
The five shortlisted teams are: David Chipperfield, Lina Ghotmeh, Eric Parry Architects and Jamie Fobert Architects, OMA and 6a Architects. They will be considered by a jury panel and the winning team will be announced this Spring.
The ideas are displayed in the domed Reading Room, now mainly used for the museum's archives and available for students and researchers to access. There is by the architectural models now displayed in this space, a desk or feedback station with pencils and a blank cards, an opportunity for visitors to also have their say.
The British Museum explains that the ideas of the architects are part of the bold transformation of the Western Galleries. That these galleries exhibit over a third of the museum's displays and include the Rosetta Stone, the Assyrian lion hunt and the Parthenon sculptures.
The architectural team that is selected will have the task of "developing a complex project, balancing the Museum's architectural heritage with a forward-looking, visitor-focused experience."
'The British Museum reopened its Reading Room for general visitors on 01 July following the introduction of ticketed tours last year' , article in the Museums Journal.
The Western Range will be redeveloped in phases
- While some galleries will be closed for certain periods, the Museum as a whole will remain open.
- Key objects from the Western Range galleries will be displayed elsewhere in the Museum.
- Other objects may be loaned as part of the British Museum's commitment to increase national and international loans.
Meanwhile in December last year, London-based Studio Weave won the competition to revamp British Museum entrance paving the way for an improved visitor experience at both entrances on Great Russell Street and Montague Place. More on this by Gareth Harris in The Art Newspaper.
