The British Museum Inner Courtyard

Location: London
Client: The British Museum
Year: 1994  Competition: Limited Competition

The proposal reveals the existing inner courtyard which contains the magnificent and hitherto buried Sydney Smirke Reading Room. The internal courtyard will enable visitors to orientate themselves with relation to the entire gallery complex. The courtyard will become one of the most impressive public rooms in Europe.

The Courtyard is covered by a glazed roof and the Reading Room is wrapped with accommodation to create a ‘Tempietto’ pavilion at the heart of the museum complex.

The damaged courtyard portico adjacent to the museum hall is replaced by a structure containing the shop at entrance level and a balcony cafe. A new temporary exhibition space and lecture theatres are located beneath the courtyard and accessed from within the ‘Tempietto’ pavilion.