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l original research or fresh analysis of existing material; l qualitative and/or quantitative research; l research completed within the last I8 months, currently in progress, or

planned research projects; l in report, study or directory format; l of interest to a broad constituency; l publicly available.

All the research listed in the first issue (spring 1994) was published during or since 1993, or is currently being conducted, but such a publication is dependent upon the active co-operation of those conducting and commissioning research in keeping the Arts Research Digest informed of their research projects. Conse- quentlv a ‘Research Details Form’ is included, and will be in future issues. The subscription rate is 527.00 (UK), !Z30.00 (Eire/Europe) and 245 (airmail elsewhere), and for subscriptions and further information contact Lynn Cain, Editor, Arts Research Digest, Research Services Unit, University of Newcastle, 6 Kensington Terrace, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE1 7RU (Tel: 091-222.6090; Fax: 091-222.6229).

PETER CANNON-BKCXIKES

The British Museum: Towards the 21st Century

In 2003 the British Museum will celebrate its 250th anniversary, and in July 1994 the Trustees unveiled their development plans for the 21st century and announced the appointment of Sir Norman Foster as their consultant architect. The long drawn out saga of the British Library and its move to the new building in St. Pancras is hopefully drawing to a close and its departure will release some 40 percent of the existing Museum building in Bloomsbury. At its heart, both

1. Interior of the Great Court of the British Museum, London, designed by Sir Robert Smirkc, seen after its completion and before the insertion of Sydney Smirkc’s

Reading Room (18.54-57).

88 \Y’OYid of‘ Mzfscums

literally and metaphorically, lies I’anizzi’s immense Round Reading Room (constructed to the designs of Sydney Smirke, 1954-57) which occupies most of Sir Robert Smirke’s Great Court, and the future of this, one of the most famous rooms in Europe, is the key to any plans for the rehabilitation and adaptation of the Great Court complex and for the dcvclopment of any other sections of the existing building. The Trustees decided to hold an open selection process to seek a consultant architect and asked competitors to focus their attention on how the Great Court might be developed in a manner which both provided new accommodation and was visually satisfying and respectful of the original Greek Revival architecture.

For the first stage, 132 firms of architects from all over the world asked to be considered for selection and in December 1993 the Selection Panel appointed by the Trustees invited 22 shortlisted firms to proceed to the next stage. In March 1994 Arup Associates, Sir Norman Foster and Partners, and Rick Mather Architects were chosen as finalists, and Sir Norman Foster and Partners were declared the winners , 25 Julv 1994. The firm is well known for a series of museum buildings and art galleries, including the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia (Norwich, U.K.), the Carre d’Art in Nimes (France) and the Sackler Galleries of the Royal Academy of Arts, London. In the

2. Infilling of the Great Court Of the British Museum, looking north towards the tower of the University of t,ondon Sen- ate House, AS in July 1994. The original Smirke facades survive virtually undam- aged.

3. Office accommodation inszrted into the Great Court of the British Museum, S.W. corner, and accommodation for the British Library book stacks. The exterior of Sydney Smirkc’s Reading Room was ncvcr intcndcd to be seen and the mean detailing

of the brickwork and glazing prcscnts considerable design problems.

British Museum their design teams will be facing a formidable task, not least because every proposal will be subject to vociferous public scrutiny, and the outline schemes of the Trustees are already at odds with the House of Commons National Hcritagc Select Committee which has recommended that the Reading Room is retained in its present use. The Trustees envisage its preservation, with all surviving original furniture and fittings in place, as an information centre and reference library freely accessible by the general public.

Alongside these developments the Trustees, headed by Lord Windelsham, plan a major programme for the refurbishment and redecoration of all the great rooms on the ground floor of the east range of the Museum, including the suite of the Grenville Library, the Manuscripts Saloon and the immense King’s Library. The latter, one of the grandest Regency interiors in London, will be restored to its appearance when it was opened m 18.28 and it will house a new permanent display dedicated to discovery and learning in the Age of the Enlightenment, when the British Museum was founded. Long overdue, and rejected in recent years, the programmc will also include the redecoration of the Front Hall and Staircase so as to reflect their appearance c.1850 when Sydney Smirke completed the first interior scheme. The release of space consequent upon the departure of the British Library will enable the Museum of Mankind (the Department of Ethnography) to return from Burlington Gardens where it has been housed since 1970, but all these ambitious plans depend upon the ability of the Trustees to raise the EIOO/110 m. which these schemes are estimated to cost.

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The British Museum Development Trust has been set up under the chairmanship of Sir Claus Moser and benefactors will be sought to fund all the capital projects within the overall programme. Much is hoped of the Millenium Commission, financed by the National Lottery, but the British Museum is a history museum with a proud tradition of avoiding arbitrary quality judgements. Consequently the Trustees are very much aware of the dangers of politicization stemming from acceptance of funds from foreign governments and pressure groups intended to heighten the profile of specific components of the collections, and the need to avoid the downside of piecemeal funding of individual components by corporate and other donors. Similarly, sponsored developments in other British national museums have drawn attention to the need to maintain continuity between individual displays and between the galleries themselves- avoiding sequences of mini-museums-so as to preserve a spiritual unity throughout, one always immediately identifiable with the British Museum and its ideals.

Photo Credits: I,4 British Museum, London; 2,3 Peter Cannon-Brookes, Abingdon

PETER CANNON-BKOOKES