The British Museum is struggling an infinite collection of leaks from roofs that have been constructed a long time in the past. The sight of buckets to catch drips is now commonplace and additional heaters are wanted in some galleries to scale back humidity ranges in winter. George Osborne, the chair of the museum’s trustees, admitted in a speech final November that for many years the constructing “has been patched up in a piecemeal approach and by closing galleries when the rain is available in”.
Osborne is pushing for an bold masterplan to improve the entire constructing, beginning with the galleries in what is called the Western Vary—which homes primarily Greek and Assyrian antiquities on the bottom flooring. This contains the big room with the Parthenon Marbles, which have lengthy been claimed by the Greeks.
Though a challenge to construct a brand new vitality centre, to be partly funded with a controversial £50m donation from BP, was introduced in December, progress on the masterplan for the galleries has slowed down because of the scandal over the theft of two,000 Greek and Roman artefacts. The museum is and not using a everlasting director to guide the challenge and fundraising will stay troublesome till confidence within the establishment is correctly restored.
In the meantime, The Artwork Newspaper can report that emergency repairs are being made to roofs above galleries 17 (Greek Nereid monument), 19 (Athenian antiquities), 72 (Historical Cyprus) and 92-94 (Japan).
In a planning utility to Camden Council final yr, the museum acknowledged that pressing work is required “to mitigate water ingress which is… placing the integrity of the constructing and the gathering vulnerable to important injury” and to deal with dangers to “public security”.
A associated downside issues humidity ranges. We are able to reveal that in December 2022 the vital Assyrian reliefs have been threatened by severe condensation, when uncommon meteorological circumstances led to moisture forming on the floor of the ninth-century BC sculptures. Emergency measures have been required to dry them out and stop any everlasting injury. These reliefs at the moment are significantly valuable, due to the lack of related panels in Iraq that have been destroyed by Islamic State extremists in 2015.
Dampness has additionally created issues for the museum’s central archive. This meant these invaluable historic data needed to be moved in 2017 from its basement retailer and have been put in short-term storage within the spherical studying room, which stays closed to guests.
A museum spokesperson factors out that the museum is 270 years outdated “and we have now been open in regards to the reality it’s in want of full-scale renovation”. The masterplan represents “one of the vital important cultural redevelopment tasks undertaken anyplace on this planet”.
Funding might be a severe problem in transferring forward. Though no figures or dates have been divulged, the overall value may properly exceed £1bn for your complete constructing and take a number of a long time.
Plans for a brand new vitality centre
A world architectural competitors to remodel the Western Vary, which represents 7,500 sq. metres, a 3rd of all of the galleries, is because of be launched later this spring. Because the Bloomsbury constructing is listed for its architectural significance, any modifications would require planning permission, however the hope is that it might nonetheless be doable to introduce some modern structure and modern gallery shows.
Constructing work is because of begin earlier on a brand new vitality centre, adjoining to the Western Vary. Among the many points that may must be thought of is coping with any unexploded Second World Struggle bombs. Throughout that battle the museum was severely broken by six German bombs and others might have fallen undetected. A preliminary survey has revealed that there’s a “medium danger” of unexploded ordnance in a couple of small particular areas of the museum, so correct procedures might be adopted to keep away from any dangers whereas constructing work is underway.
In the meantime, the hunt goes on for a brand new director, following the resignation final August of Hartwig Fischer over the Greek and Roman theft. In September Mark Jones, a former director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, stepped in as interim director.
The brand new directorship submit was marketed, with a 26 January deadline for purposes. Interviews will shortly be underway and an appointment will hopefully be made by April. The profitable candidate is more likely to have to present discover to go away their current job, so a successor will in all probability not be in submit earlier than the summer season. Their most important duties might be to revive religion within the establishment and press forward with the early phases of the masterplan.