This design for the new Central Hall seeks to create a dynamic and active space that unites the existing components of the National Railway Museum, allowing them to retain their character, while also creating a new architectural intervention that is at once contemporary and evocative.
The Central Hall is porous and transparent, designed to be open and inviting. Its façade opens up to the Museum Square, with cafe tables spilling out activating the new public space.
In the spirit of the railways the new Central Hall is of its time, with a glulam timber structure and curved glass facades that also creates a warm and identifiable interior space. The building form closely ties in to the existing structures, but invents a new and recognisable welcome and arrival that is imbued with the optimism and energy of a 21st century museum dedicated to the railway.