Revisiting the Imperial War Museum for International Museum Day

International Museum Day celebrates the continued work of museums and their caretakers across the globe.

In London alone, Foster + Partners has renovated several museums – including The Sackler Galleries in the Royal Academy of Arts (1991) and Great Court at the British Museum (2000). Beyond this, the practice has also completed a range of global projects: including Datong Art Museum (China, 2021), Norton Museum of Art (West Palm Beach, United States, 2021) and Narbo Via (Narbonne, France, 2021).

This year’s International Museums Day coincides with the tenth anniversary of Foster + Partners’ renovation of the Imperial War Museum in London. Taking this opportunity to visit the practice’s internal archives and look back over the project is a reminder that a museum is not only a space for storing and displaying history, but also an active participant in it.

History

The Imperial War Museum is located within the former Bethlem Royal Hospital on Lambeth Road. This was an institution founded in 1247 as a religious priory that soon became notorious as the country’s foremost asylum, ‘bedlam’. In 1676, the building was dressed in ornate facade designed by George Hooke, natural philosopher and architectural assistant to Sir Christopher Wren. “For many years the only building which looked like a Palace in London,” one writer commented in 1815, a century-and-a-half later.

Following a series of parliamentary debates, Bethlem Hospital moved to St George’s Fields in 1828. In 1930, 1st Viscount Lord Rothermere purchased the vacated building, with the intention to demolish it and donate the site to London City Council. However, the trustees of The Imperial War Museum – founded in 1917 – persuaded Rothermere to retain the central portion and moved into the building in 1936. Over the past century, the Imperial War Museum has recorded the history of conflicts worldwide.

Renovations

Ahead of the centenary of the beginning of the First World War in July 2014,Foster + Partners was commissioned to redesign the building – and provide much-needed space for its growing collections – as well as develop a masterplan strategy for the surrounding site. In response, the design team created a series of new galleries dedicated to the history of the First World War, improved access and circulation in and around the building, and brought natural light into the exhibition spaces. As Spencer de Grey, Head of Design at Foster + Partners commented: "This project not only transformed the internal workings of the museum, but considered how this historic site could connect strongly with the park to become a generous public space.”

At the heart of the building is a generous atrium, which provides a dramatic space in which to view the largest objects from the museum’s collection. The relationship between these exhibits and the surrounding galleries was completely redefined – the Harrier jet, Spitfire, V2 rocket and other iconic objects were suspended to correspond with the gallery displays on each of the floors. Terraces between the fins open up visual connections vertically and across the central space, and a new gallery floor suspended beneath the vault of the roof protects the exhibits from direct sunlight.

The new First World War Galleries, with interiors by Casson Mann, are located at ground level, with the top floor of the building dedicated to current conflicts. Vertical circulation was also redesigned to make the connections between floors more visible – a new cantilevered stair forms the backdrop to the atrium.

Rather than encroaching on the exhibition space, the café and shop were relocated to the new, lower entrance level at ground floor. The café can now be used outside the museum’s opening hours, and its seating extends into the park to create an open-air dining area. The oval forecourt created a public plaza, visually balancing the weight of the historic building and emphasising the Imperial War Museum as a contemporary institution, while retaining the integrity of the existing structure.  As Spencer de Grey, Head of Design at Foster + Partners commented: "This project not only created a successful museum with impressive gallery spaces, but considered how the historic site could connect strongly with the park to become a generous public space.” Michael Jones, Senior Partner, added: "Even a decade later, The Imperial War Museum’s civic and educational values are clearly communicated in its design. Our future collaboration with the museum, which involves integrating an accessible entrance, is part of this developing ethos.”