WCEC, British Museum

The extension, named the World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre, is located at the north-west corner of the museum's Bloomsbury site.

Along with a temporary exhibition space the scheme includes state-of-the-art laboratories and studios, stores for the collection, and facilities to support its loan programme. The facilities are housed infour linked stone and glass pavilions – each of four storeys above basement level – connectied to the main Museum and designed to optimise daylight reaching the existing North Range and King Edward VII buildings.

The building's functions are arranged vertically with the Collections Storage Facility located below ground where the heavy floor loading can easily b
ccommodated and where the most stable environmental conditions can be found. Above this sits the logistics hub that links easily into the logistic routes of the existing museum. The Special Exhibitions Gallery has been located to provide level access from the Great Court with the conservation studios and offices above in order to provide good quality daylight for conservation work.

Each pavilion has three stories of space for storage with a 'fifth pavilion' that contains scientific research facilities also submerged below ground to minimise the impact of vibration and allow close control of environmental conditions.