Stage Eight: The British Museum Great Court,
Great Russell Street, London
As a member of the Friends of the British Museum (formerly the British Museum Society), I managed to get an invitation to an exclusive preview of the Great Court redevelopment at the British Museum, before the official opening on December 7th.
The Great Court, at the centre of the Museum, used to house the British Library bookstacks and administration areas, and surrounded the world famous Reading Room, which had been only accessible by staff and holders of Reader's Tickets. When, eventually, the British Library relocated to new premises at St. Pancras, the project to refurbish Great Court and Reading Room, and open it up to the public began. A glass roof (Designed by Foster and Partners, as was the whole rennovation project) was added and a brand new South Portico was constructed.
The following are just a few quick snaps I took during the preview on Tuesday November 28th.
The Great Court is stunning (even in the state I saw it, with some work still to be finished) The 2 acre area is simply amazing - light and airy, with the Reading Room restored to it's place as the centre of attention! The overall effect is similar to being on one of the Tomb Raider computer games - lots of space, and old buildings on all sides, but with a modern roof on top. The whole is only let down by the noticably lighter colour of the South Portico - whether this is because it is newly constructed, or because a stone other than Portland, which was used in the rest of the Court in it's original construction, remains to be seen.
If you are in London, I can strongly recommend that you visit both the Great Court and the Reading Room.
For more information, please visit
the official British Museum pages:
The
Great Court
The
Reading Room
An invitation to the Preview/Great
Court and Reading Room information leaflets
Preview information leaflet
The Reading Room, with the lighting
installed around the edge of the dome / The infamous South Portico (still
under construction)
More of the Glass Roof (It IS glass,
honest! It was dark outside!)/The South Portico again
