NCPM / the Hub

MUSEUMS ARE THE WINDOWS ON OUR CULTURE: NOT NECESSARILY LINKED TO HISTORY OR CHRONOLOGY, THEY CAN STAGE ANY PHENOMENON WORTHY OF REFLECTION”

National Centre for Popular Music / The Hub

MUSEUMS

Whether considering the visitor or the curator, Nigel Coates Studio has an experience-based approach to museum design. All of our realised projects encourage the visitor to become an active participant, and be able to take in the exhibits to maximum effect. Tuning in to the narrative is the key to success. We are experts at generating the spatial conditions in which displays and their exhibits can be supported by the environment in every way possible. Projects shown here are all the result of competitive bids and careful consideration of the needs of the institution. The Geffrye Museum and National Centre for Popular Music both reinforce their permanence, while Powerhouse::uk and the Body Zone at the Millennium Dome celebrate their transience.

Geffrye Museum 20th Century Wing

Exactly because the new wing extends the almshouses the museum has occupied for almost a century, we took many clues for this design from the existing buildings. The new structures are built from London brick and have a traditional timber pitch. We filled the space between the old and the new with a diagrid roof that swirls and hovers between the brick structures as if it were a cloud. Visitors emerge from the linear sequence of room sets in the almshouses to discover a curved trajectory applied to the 20th century settings.

The sweeping central staircase extends the visitors’ trajectory