A fresh consultation has opened to decide what to do with the Museum of London site when the museum moves out to its new home in Smithfields. The ideas are pretty much a refinement of the proposals shown off last year, that the roundabout is removed and the area is redeveloped with three office blocks and a lot more street-level open space.

An artist’s impression of the site looking south (c) Diller Scofidio + Renfro / City of London

Two of the office blocks are tall, being 14 and 17 stories high, and there’s a third lower height building being proposed of just five floors in height. The consultation says that the offices are being developed based on changing office use in the post-pandemic world, with fewer fixed desks and a lot more meeting rooms for the partial work from home market.

In the public realm, one of the elements that have been confirmed in the update is that the Roman Fort, which is currently pretty much inaccessible under the main road will be opened up as a permanent visitor attraction. There will also be a public roof terrace on one of the three office blocks, with seating areas framing views to the south to St Paul’s Cathedral and down to the Thames, along with a top floor cultural space to be hired out.

There will be public exhibitions about the London Wall West plans on Thursday 23rd June at One New Change from 12-2pm, and then at The Barbican Centre between 4-8pm.

The current plan is to submit the planning application later this year, with a decision in the spring of 2023.

Although the Museum of London is closing at the end of this year, it’s going to take them a couple of years to fully move out of their site ahead of the replacement London Museum opening in 2025.

An artist’s impression of the site looking north (c) Diller Scofidio + Renfro / City of London

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One comment
  1. Andrew Inglis says:
    26 June 2022 at 8:44 am

    The existing Museum of London always looked awkward perched above a little roundabout . The new London Museum at West Smithfield will give it room for growth , which a city so important deserves ( and should be fully funded by the wealthy of London and the government ).The new London Museum must suit all ages and not be dumbed down like the Science Museum . The redevelopment plans for the old site look great and will soothe the brutalism of the Barbican as well as making Roman remains accessible .

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