The Architecture Foundation and the Museum of London are delighted to announce GRUPPE as the winners of their collaborative House of Muses competition. Run in two stages, this competition looked to commission a design team to create a temporary structure that will invite the public to share thoughts and help shape the future transformation of the museum. Following an international open call for proposals, three design teams:  Sam Jacoband Pablo Bronstein, GRUPPE and Neon, were shortlisted to work up proposals for an interactive structure that will facilitate public engagement.

Set to open on Friday 6 June 2014, during the London Festival of Architecture 2014, GRUPPE’s structure will be located at the Museum of London’s entrance.  The structure is inspired by historic fragments found around the City of London and designed as a pier of an imaginary structure linking the St Alban tower on Wood Street to the Museum of London.  Conceived as a place for contemplation about what a museum could and should be, the public will enter the structure to give their feedback and reflect on this topic.

Nicholas Lobo Brennan, Director, GRUPPE said:

“We wanted to work with the history of the site as a way to address the architectural issues facing the Museum of London today. We recognise that museums are facing challenges regarding their status as monuments, as their role evolves to serve more varied functions, which we felt was important to make central to the project. We hope the House of Muses structure becomes part of the everyday life of the area over the course of the summer, as a place to sit, meet and discuss.”

The winning design was chosen by an expert jury panel consisting of Oliver Wainwright, The Guardian Architecture Critic; Hannah Lawson, Director at John McAslan and Partners; and Vicky Richardson, Director Architecture, Design, Fashion, British Council; along with representatives from The Architecture Foundation and the Museum of London.

The Museum of London will now work with GRUPPE to deliver the structure in time for the London Festival of Architecture.  In the summer, the structure will act as the focal point for a series of events hosted by the museum that will encourage the public to feed into the brief for the future vision of the museum.

 The House of Muses will be open from Friday 6 June 2014 at the Museum of London, 150 London Wall, London, EC2Y 5HN (10am 6pm, Monday – Saturday).

> via The Architecture Foundation