Art of Science

LTS Architects has completed Science Gallery London, an engaging new public space where art and science come together

Photos
Peter Landers

Designed by LTS Architects, Science Gallery London is housed within a wing of the original Guy’s Hospital, opposite London Bridge Station. The 2,100-square-metre scheme comprises exhibition galleries, a lecture and performance theatre, events facilities, a cafe, shop and newly restored Georgian courtyard.

The building has an inward-looking Georgian facade, but the brief demanded permeability and openness to draw in foot traffic from the neighbouring station, says the architect. The client required a flexible, adaptable space, clear navigation of the entrance and ease of access for temporary exhibitions.

The architectural response opens up the building, positioning the main entrance within the streetscape, rather than inside the courtyard and carving out a large glazed opening from the masonry facade to act as a ‘shop front’ revealing the exhibitions and activities within.

The interventions are sympathetic to the original building, using the same palette of materials as the listed facade, yet stretching and moulding them into an entrance sequence formed of contemporary architectural elements. A long cast stone seat wall is intended to draw visitors into the building from the north and completes the Portland Stone plinth of the building. It folds from outside to in, allowing a seamless transition through the generous main atrium into the Gallery, which stands more than a metre above street level. The seat wall also addresses a natural axis with the under ground station exit, realigning the Gallery entrance with one of the oldest thoroughfares in London: Great Maze Pond.

Boland House and courtyard section; exploded axonometric view

The goods lift tower, fundamental to the workings of the gallery, is placed within the street, cloaked with dynamically edge-lit lasered-glass panels. The Courtyard, which was previously used as a car park, has been fully restored and is now an accessible public square.

Inside, the volumes are open and continuous with spaces that can be lit, closed-off or opened-up as required. This allows the galleries to change their aspect from one exhibition to the next. The ground floor, which is used as a cafe space and shop by day, can be easily reconfigured into an events space at night.