Wellcome Collection
Reimagining an already remarkable venue
“Oliver was hugely creative, insightful and calm: an absolute joy to work with. His key strengths are in seeing the big picture, challenging the status quo, effecting real change and bringing others along with him.”
In response to the remarkable success of Wellcome Collection, it became necessary to expand the venue to accommodate ten times the original level of visits. We had close involvement with planning and implementing redevelopment of the building to scale up the public spaces and widen the audience offer. This included more gallery space, a studio for young people, a new restaurant and significant improvements to the entrance, circulation areas and facilities.
We led the internal team coordinating the design, build and installation of the Reading Room, aimed at creating an engaging point of connection between gallery and library. This bold reimagining of a traditional chamber resulted in a radically experimental space aimed at encouraging new modes of audience behaviour. Located at the top of a dramatic new dynamic stair, the room makes for an unforgettable visit and continues to attract widespread admiration of public and press.
As a digital dimension to the Reading Room, we also managed development of a series of immersive Digital Stories exploring some of its key themes. These beautifully designed narratives are delivered through a modular storytelling system built specially to test this new approach to presenting collections content.
You can find out more about the Reading Room and its Digital Stories in our creative project portfolio...
“Oliver ensured the venue ran efficiently during a challenging year with some of the busiest exhibitions to date, while simultaneously preparing the groundwork for a major change programme with a £17.5m construction project. Perhaps most importantly, he was able to balance the need to maintain business as usual with fresh thinking.”