Architects may boycott British Museum over BP deal

The anti-fossil fuel collective, BP or not BP?, has urged architects not to bid to work on the British Museum’s masterplan project over its £50m deal with BP.

The museum will launch an international design competition in spring to find an architect for a major renovation of its western galleries.

With costs reportedly projected to exceed £1bn, the museum's masterplan, which also includes several other capital projects, has been described as one of the most significant cultural redevelopment projects ever undertaken.

In December, the museum announced a new £50m deal with BP to fund the masterplan, after months of speculation that it was planning to cut ties with the oil giant.

In a social media post last week, BP or not BP? wrote: “Architects: we invite you to pledge NOT to work with the British Museum until their new partnership with BP is dropped.”

Climate campaigners have described the deal as “one of the biggest, most brazen greenwashing deals the sector has ever seen”.

The British Museum has defended its decision to continue the partnership, saying corporate funding is essential to the masterplan. Board minutes from the run-up to the BP announcement reveal that, despite significant disagreement, trustees eventually agreed that accepting the sponsorship offer was in the best interests of the museum.

The BP or not BP? collective said working on the partnership would contravene guidance produced by UK Architects Declare, a network of architect practices committed to addressing the climate emergency.

The group said: “Guidance from @architectsdeclare_uk encourages firms to approach projects by evaluating their contributions to mitigating climate breakdown. This redevelopment will do the opposite: allowing BP to continue its extraction and harm Global South communities across the world who face the worst impacts of the climate crisis.”

Architects Declare has said it believes that “it would be consistent with [its declaration] for architects to turn down this opportunity”. Other groups representing architectural workers have backed the call, including Future Architects Front and Section of Architectural Workers union.

A spokesman for the British Museum said the institution was disappointed by the calls for a boycott, and that environmental sustainability is at the heart of the redevelopment.

He said: “The British Museum is in urgent need of renovation and the masterplan will be one of the most significant cultural redevelopments ever undertaken and private funding is essential.

“It’s disappointing campaign groups are calling for a boycott when we’ve said we will be looking at design proposals with a particular focus on sustainable and environmental expertise, working with us responsibly to create a net zero estate. We look forward to seeing submissions that aim to restore the highly significant and celebrated listed buildings on the site.”

A spokesperson for BP or not BP? told Museums Journal: “Any efforts by the museum to create a 'net zero estate' are rendered pointless by its totally inappropriate choice of sponsor, a company whose business plans aren't aligned with net zero and has invested nine times more into fossil fuels as renewables over the past two years.

“Architects are at the forefront of society's response to the climate crisis and how we reimagine the built environment, but when their work will be used to greenwash BP's destructive business, a red line has to be drawn. If the museum's own board refuses to act on the evidence about BP and respond to what climate scientists are telling us, then they must be held to account and forced to think again.”