Tate Harmer transforms one part of the Brunel Museum in Rotherhithe into a vivid space with sculptural staircase. The Brunel Museum is located within Brunel’s Thames Tunnel Engine House, which is a Scheduled Monument. Following the installation of a separating concrete deck above the tunnel the museum has also taken a lease on the Grade II* listed circular underground Sinking Shaft.

This project is phase 1 of a wider masterplan for the museum, developed in collaboration with Grimshaw Architects. It provides inclusive access to the Sinking Shaft, with a high level viewing platform and stair to the lower level. This has dramatically improved visitor access to the shaft as well as providing facilities for the museum’s program of performances.

image courtesy of Tate Harmer

Tate Harmer's intervention was as much about revealing the beauty of the existing space as it was about providing public access, and we were careful to use the minimum means possible in our architectural interventions. The new staircase and platform are conceived as a ‘ship in a bottle’ structure, inserted through the new door opening and containing all the services and requirements necessary to create a working public space, whilst retaining the powerful raw atmosphere of Brunel’s first structure.

image courtesy of Tate Harmer

Jerry Tate, Partner of Tate Harmer said: “It was vital that the staircase and new entrance to the Rotherhithe shaft did not impact on its historical significance. We wanted to celebrate the raw nature of the Victorian industrial heritage while providing the public proper access for tours and performances”.

image © jack hobhouse

“Brunel was a daring engineer and organised the world’s first underwater concert right here in Rotherhithe. Museums should be places to be inspired and places for celebration and performance. Happy Birthday Brunel!  210 years old this week'' said Director of the Brunel Museum, Robert Hulse. 

new staircase at the Brunel Museum. image © jack hobhouse

The Thames Tunnel once provided a pedestrian crossing of the River Thames nearly two miles downstream of London Bridge. The shaft has now been sealed with a concrete floor, following the transformation of the tunnel for the construction of the East London Line and London Overground.

image courtesy of Tate Harmer

image courtesy of Tate Harmer

Project Facts

Location: London, UK
Client: The Brunel Museum
Timescale: Completed March 2016
Size: 120 m2

Top Image © raftery + lowe

> via Tate Harmer