This new extension to Charles Harrison Townsend’s Grade II* listed original buildings at the Horniman Museum radically transforms the visitor’s experience and directly connects the museum interior to its gardens. New galleries are created for the musical instrument collection and for temporary exhibitions, together with new education spaces, a shop and cafe. The entire museum is also made fully accessible.
Continuing the sequence of Townsend’s composition, the building’s long, vaulted metal-clad roof creates a third gable to the street, with daylight introduced at the apex. Masonry walls in stone and red brick match the original buildings, and a deep recess at the centre identifies a new public entrance approached directly from the gardens.
The project also includes a timber-clad Conservation Centre within the grounds.
