Five architect teams shortlisted for British Museum design competition

Five architectural teams have been selected to take part in the final stage of a design competition to redesign galleries at the British Museum in London.

The international competition, which launched in May through Colander Associates, received more than 60 applications from across the world in its first stage. The five shortlisted teams will receive an honorarium of £50,000 to submit their design entries, which will then go on display in the museum’s Round Reading Room from December.

A judging panel will select the winning team early in 2025 – this team will then work with British Museum staff to develop designs for the Western Range of galleries with a brief to “respond to the museum’s sensitive historic buildings, ambitious decarbonisation plans and the ongoing process of reimagining the display and care of collections”.

The short time frame is deliberate, said Russell Torrance, the director of estates and capital projects at the British Museum, as the aim of the competition isn’t to come up with a final, complete plan for the project.

“Rather than seeking a fixed outcome in the form of a concept design, the competition allows us to engage with shortlisted teams over an extended period of time,” he explained. “We want to meet the team with the vision and skill to collaborate with the British Museum on an ongoing basis as we embark on a hugely significant programme of work for our historic buildings and the collections they house, as well as our users – visitors and staff.”

The shortlisted teams

Team one: 6a Architects with Advanced Integrated Solutions, Arup, David Bonnett Associates, Gitta Gschwendtner, Kellenberger-White, London School of Architecture, Purcell, Studio ZNA

Team two: David Chipperfield Architects with AEA Consulting, Adamson Associates, Alan Baxter Associates, Arup, Atelier Brückner, Atelier Ten, Lobe Lloyd, Julian Harrap Architects, Plan A, Reusefully, Neal Shasore

Team three: Eric Parry Architects and Jamie Fobert Architects with Buro Happold, David Bonnett Associates, Max Fordham, Mima, Price & Myers, Purcell, Space Syntax, Studio ZNA

Team four: Lina Ghotmeh — Architecture with Ali Cherri, Arup, Holmes Studio, Plan A, Purcell

Team five: OMA with Arup, Benoy, Cookies, Ducks Scéno, EQ2 Light, Purcell, Salvatore Settis, Studio ZNA

Stage two of the competition will ask the teams to participate in a process that includes a day-long workshop with the museum team, as well as a series of design exercises to assess their approach to historic fabric, as well as different elements of spatial, environmental and exhibition design.

George Osborne, the chair of the British Museum, will head up the judging panel alongside Yvonne Farrell, Meneesha Kellay, Mahrukh Tarapor, Sarah Younger, Mark Jones, Nicholas Cullinan, Tracey Emin, Charlie Mayfield and Alejandro Santo Domingo.

The Western Range includes a series of galleries all located on the western side of the museum in the Smirke building. They collectively make up a third of the British Museum’s gallery space, and house high-profile parts of the collection such as the Parthenon Sculptures as well as objects from Ancient Egypt and the Middle East.

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.

The British Museum says it will keep the galleries open to the public during the redevelopment, which is part of its wider Masterplan to restore and renovate the site.

“The redevelopment of the British Museum is one of the biggest projects of our time,” George Osborne said. “We asked for the best of the architectural community to step forward to help – and they have, from Britain and across the world. The shortlist we’ve chosen mixes renowned experience with exciting new voices. We couldn’t have asked for more.”