MUSEUMS
The interior of the Reading Room was designed by AOC Architects as an experimental space
WELLCOME CHANGE
London’s Wellcome Collection receives five times the number of visitors it predicted when it opened seven years ago. To accommodate
the crowds, the museum has been redeveloped. Head of Operations Donne Robertson explains what this means for the popular attraction
Kathleen Whyman, journalist, Attractions Management
What is the Wellcome Collection? Our brand proposition is that we’re the free destination for the incurably curious. The museum is known for its eclectic collection, which explores medicine, art and life. On London’s busy Euston Road,
it’s a sanctuary for enquiring minds. Our exhibitions and events explore the fascinating areas where art, life and medicine overlap. The Wellcome Collection is part of the Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation which is the legacy of Sir Henry Wellcome. Wellcome was an obsessive collector. He had millions of objects and artefacts and a vision of a “Museum of Mankind” that would encompass his extraordinarily wide range of interests. The Wellcome Collection building
was originally the home of Wellcome’s museum of medicine. It was for medical professionals, to assist them with their practice, and entry was by invitation only. After Wellcome died in 1936, the
Wellcome Trust used the building as its headquarters, staying there for the next 70 years. When the Wellcome Trust outgrew the offi ces and moved into a property next door, the building was free to become a museum again.
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that’s what our services and facilities were predicated on. However, we were soon receiving over 500,000 visits a year. The Wellcome Trust saw it as a fantastic
opportunity to tap into that thirst for knowledge and information. Work started in spring 2012 and a bigger, bolder Wellcome Collection opened in February 2015.
Wellcome Collection’s Donne Robertson
Our visitors say the way we approach a subject is eclectic, weird, holistic, cutting edge, quirky and deep. What we’re defi nitely not is dumbed down, boring, old-fashioned, commercial, daunting or hard work.
Why redevelop so soon after opening? When the Wellcome Collection opened to the public in June 2007, it was unchartered territory. We anticipated getting 100,000 visits per annum and
What work was done? Building and expanding weren’t an option because of our footprint. Instead, we opened up existing spaces with creative interventions, such as reclaiming the central light well for space that we can use. The development project has increased our gallery spaces by 40 per cent and brought some new and exciting public spaces into play, which were previously back-of-house areas. The highlight is this spectacular helical staircase designed by Stirling Prize-winning architects Wilkinson Eyre. The staircase greets visitors as they enter the venue, spiralling asymmetrically from the ground fl oor, punching through the fi rst fl oor and up into the second fl oor. It’s a powerful way to get visitors fl owing around the building and can be seen rising up through the venue from outside through the windows.
AM 2 2015 ©CYBERTREK 2015
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