This is the first episode of a new Deconstructed miniseries, for which we’ve been given special access to London’s most ambitious cultural project: the transformation of the western part of Smithfield Market into a new home for London Museum, opening to the public on Saturday 28th November.
In this episode we were joined by Director of London Museum Sharon Ament, Director of Regeneration and Development for the City of London Corporation Chris Bonner, Partner at Julian Harrap Architects Lyall Thow, and Alec Shaw Director of New Museum Project & Estate at London Museum.
We discussed the Museum’s former home on London Wall, the origins of its move to Smithfield over a decade ago, the thousand-year history of Smithfield Market and the Victorian buildings designed by Sir Horace Jones in the 1880s which are the new home of the London Museum. We were shown the incredible surviving interior of the Lockhart Cocoa Rooms, hidden under veneer for many years, and considered how architectural conservation can shape the institution.
This episode was supported by London Museum. You can find out more about visiting the museum on their website: https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/
Photograph © London Museum
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