Client: Science Museum GroupStructural Engineer: Science Museum GroupLocation: London, United Kingdom
Date: 2025-10-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTCTags: Steel, timber, aluminium, Repurposed, Digital Design, Parametric Design, CNC
Science Museum - Ages of Space
The Science Museum’s new Ages of Space Gallery is an entirely new installation within the Welcome Wing of the iconic London institution that tells the story of the first space age and the future of exploration. We collaborated with their in-house designers on large suspended structures inspired by rocket thrusters, floor mounted display plinths and tall display walls. Our scope also included the structural assessment of a large statue of Yuri Gagarin and the detailed investigation of the existing building and the proof of its load capacity. We spent a great deal of time on site, even climbing through ceiling voids to getting a better look at the existing structure.
We were asked to survey the spacecraft in the old gallery before their being moved into their new home and we were on-hand to inspect the movement of the Apollo 10 capsule across the gallery. Our scope even included the permanent stability assessment of the Apollo 10 capsule and the design of its new base. Sustainability was a vital consideration in our design. We proposed the use of old building components from the museum being incorporated within the new hanging drum and display plinths
Photos 2,3,4 & 8 - The Science Museum, all others Format Engineers Ltd