National Motor Museum

The museum required a monorail, and this was designed to run through the building horizontally. This meant the roof had to be designed at two levels to accomodate it, so a double glazed pitched roof is supported by its own columns inside the building.

The outer roof is also glazed, so maximum light can flood the building. The juxtaposition forms a cruciform shape in the ceiling, which lights up the central area whilst keeping the exhibits safe from direct sunlight.

The museum itself is roughly divided into three parts, sectioning the genre and chronological order of cars on display. It is one storey but the 'control platform' is on a mezzanine level. The roof is supported by steel spine girders which extend at the corners to form entrance canopies.

The steelwork is exposed and painted orange, whilst the roof is aluminium. The museum's walls are punctuated with steel slit windows, which give an indirect wash of light on the walls.

The information centre works like a railway concourse: entered and exited via the car park and the circulation route. It then connects onto the John Montagu building which contains the offices and library of motoring. The centre has a timber curtain wall and its steelwork is exposed, whilst the John Montagu building is made from concrete blockwork.