British Museum Great Court London Building Photos, Foster + Partners Architects, Location
British Museum Great Court
7 Dec 2020
British Museum Great Court Building in London
The Great Court at the British Museum turns 20

Date built: 2000

Design: Foster + Partners

Photographs by Nigel Young / Foster + Partners

The British Museum?s Great Court turned twenty on Sunday 6 December 2020. As the departure point for Museum visitors, it has transformed the experience of the Museum. Since it opened, 113 million people have walked under its arched glass roof with its 3,312 triangular panes of glass. On social media, it is the most photographed space in the Museum.

The Great Court is a two-acre space at the heart of Robert Smirke?s Museum. Originally it was conceived as a garden for promenading and discussing but it only lasted for a few years before his brother Sydney constructed the famous Round Reading Room at its centre. As lean-to book storage buildings were added, the Court was lost to the public until 1997 when the Library moved to St Pancras. The opportunity was then realised with our master plan to open it up for the public once more.
Marking the 20th anniversary, Norman Foster, Founder and Executive Chairman, Foster + Partners, said: ?The rediscovery of the amazing courtyard of the British Museum – the Great Court – and its rebirth as a new social focus followed what I have often called the historic tradition of change, which respects the past while steadfas...