Albion Stone, the world’s leading Portland stone supplier, has supplied their stone to the latest extension to the British Museum: the World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre.
The new extension, designed by international architectural practice Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners, will provide state-of –the art conservation studios, science laboratories, collection storage facilities and a logistics hub.
The new building’s design, consisting of five pavilions (one of which is submerged underground), seeks to apply and order to the otherwise disparate and complex nature of the site and surrounding complex using proportion, scale and materiality to create a solid visual aesthetic.
The use of Portland Roach as the building’s cladding material makes a visual link to the neighbouring King Edward VII building through the structural rhythm and horizontal coursing of cast glass screens and Portland stone panels, whilst responding to the architectural legacy of the Grade I listed site.
Initial samples from Albion Stone were provided, and a tour of Portland stone buildings allowed the design team chose the type of aesthetic they wanted the cladding material to achieve. A visit to Albion Stone’s Quarry, Mine and Factory was arranged, where the team agreed the geological range of the stone from large sample panels.
Associate and architect Kevin Gray comments: "The British Museum is characterised by the use of Portland Stone and the new WCEC makes reference to this.
"The decision to use the Portland Roach stone was a result of collaboration with Albion Stone to understand the physical characteristics of the material, its performance over time and its visual qualities both at the quarry and in its use on numerous buildings.
"It was our intention to use a stone which beautifully demonstrated the texture, grain and variation of the material itself along with clues to its geological formation."
