The Museum of London is gearing up for its move from the Barbican for greener pastures in Smithfield market. An international competition is due to launch in February to choose an architect for the project, with the winner expected to be announced this summer.
The museum’s director Sharon Ament says the present site, which it has occupied since 1976, is “a failing building with problematic entrances and a location that is difficult to find”. The move to Smithfield, just over five minutes’ walk from the existing museum on the north-western edge of the City of London, would double its space.
The chance to relocate came in December, when the City of London Corporation bought West Smithfield, part of the Victorian meat market complex, for £35m. This came after a private developer failed to get planning permission for a retail and office scheme that would have required some demolition of the historic market.
The key question, of course, is money, and how the move will be funded. The running costs of the museum, which presents the history of London, are jointly met by the City of London and the Greater London Authority. Together they are expected to pay the lion’s share of the costs to adapt the building, which will probably involve significant changes to the interiors and some to the exterior. There will also be costs in moving the collection and creating new displays, which the Museum of London will mostly have to raise on its own, so it may need to apply to the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The Smithfield museum should open in 2021. Ament is hoping that it should attract more than 2 million visitors a year at its new location, compared to the 1.2 million it received last year. Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, is an enthusiastic supporter of the project, citing a collection that ranges from the ancient head of Serapis to the original lift at Selfridges. The move to Smithfield, he says, will “unleash its full potential”.
Meanwhile, at the Barbican, the museum’s current home could be demolished to free up space for a new concert hall. Simon Rattle, who is moving from Berlin to lead the London Symphony Orchestra in 2017, is among those campaigning for a world-class venue for classical music to be constructed. An early survey concluded that the concert hall could be built by 2023, at a cost of £278m.
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that the competition launched in January 2016. It launches 11 February.
