Conservation and Repair of Roofs at the V&A Museum

Client:

The V&A Museum / Quinn London Ltd (Heritage Division)

SERVICES PROVIDED

Conservation and Repair of North and South Court Roofs at the V&A Museum

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

• Value: circa £7,300,000
• Location: Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL

The works comprised the refurbishment and repair of the historic roofs to the North & South Courts of the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A). These parts are some of the oldest in the Museum, dating from 1861-63. The works addressed the V&A Estates Department’s concerns with long-standing issue of historical water ingress into the gallery spaces, as an essential first step in a wider programme of consolidation and repair to this part of the Museum.

W&B were appointed under a Design & Build contract and completed successfully RIBA stages 4, 5 & 6. In close relationship with the main contractor, W&B developed this project offering a solution with sympathetic materials and construction methods, accompanied by a buildability approach.

As lead consultant, W&B liaised with other consultants and specialists to deliver an integrated solution for these complex roofs consisting of glazed lanterns and clerestories on a beautifully ornate cast iron structure.

The employer’s requirement to provide a dark environment to protect the exhibitions from fading with sunlight, took this project to a new dimension. A glass engineer was appointed to carry out a glass safety check that would form the basis of the blackout system design, this would prevent the glass from cracking under the stress of the heat buildup between the glazing and the blackout fabric.

The design team consisted of Wilby & Burnett as architects, MBP as structural engineers and Garcia Consulting Engineers as M&E consultant. Quinn London Ltd were the main contractor.