Dow Jones Architects

“Dow Jones Architects were selected for the high quality of their elegant and innovative designs, which made a point of highlighting the original architecture of the space.”

Annabel Judd, Science Museum, 2016

In 2016, we won a competition to refurbish the lecture theatre at the Science Museum. The original theatre was created for school audiences and was in need of refreshment; our project makes a more sophisticated room for wider audiences.

The entrance to the theatre is discreet and easy to miss, concealed by a staircase. We  re- configures the entrance to the space, cladding the underside of the stair in engraved stainless steel to locate the theatre. The steel pattern is based on string models from the collection, which are Victorian models in the collection which teach the construction of complex geometrical forms. 

Inside the auditorium, we uncovered the barrel vault of the space, with new wall linings and new raked bench seating.

The M&E was adapted so that the seating acted as a supply plenum and the vault was used for extract. The lighting, AV and IT was replaced and new acoustic linings installed.

Many elements were pre-fabricated to minimise on-site work, which was carried out whilst the museum was fully operational.