Museum of the Home reopens to the public
Formerly the Geffrye Museum, and set in the Grade I Listed Ironmonger’s almshouses, the Museum of the Home has reopened to the public, with exhibitions exploring the way people lived from the 17th Century, through the Victorian era and up to 20th Century contemporary living. G&T worked with architects Wright & Wright over seven years to open up 80% more space at the museum.
Working with exhibition designers ZMMA and the architects, this once-in-a-generation project focused on opening up the building, creating more exhibition and public space and resolving long-term circulation issues which had held back development of the museum. The project blends new build with refurbishment to the existing spaces, including the Grade I Listed buildings.
"The museum is unbelievably brilliant! Everyone should be so proud!"Sonia Solicari
Director, Museum of the Home
Works within the almshouses have opened up previously unused spaces at lower ground and first floor, creating a rational circulation pattern and new exhibition space, adding a first floor for a new library and collections storage together with correcting historic structural defects. Two new pavilions have been built to provide learning space and an events venue and a full scope of external works was included to refurbish and landscape the garden areas. A new entrance area allows the museum to face the new Hoxton Station, whilst maintaining its much loved historic frontage on Kingsland Road.
A new café has been built on the adjoining site and is located within a former pub building that has undergone wider refurbishment and extension to create new apartments.
G&T partner Miles Delap commented: “G&T has supported the Museum of the Home for over a decade providing Cost and Project Management services, and our team is proud that it has re-opened to such acclaim. The creative re-use of the Grade I Listed building by Wright & Wright is elegant and we are pleased to have been able to execute it well”.
The project was made possible with funding from a number of sources – the most significant of these was from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The Museum opened for visitors in June 2021.