Mace Group

Glass visions

Mace transformed the much-loved British Museum's two-acre inner courtyard into Europe's largest covered square, creating an airy new environment for the insitutions many global visitors.

Mace was construction manager for the British Museum's Great Court project, leading an extensive team of more than sixty professionals, trade contractors, and suppliers to deliver the scheme on time and to a delighted client. Mace's role also extended to the management of the high quality and unique retail fitting out of the Great Court together with the adjacent Grenville Library and an acquired shop in nearby Bloomsbury Street. The three sites, totalling around 12,000ft2, were completed in August 2000.

Covered by a soaring glass-and steel-roof, the Great Court provides a new education centre, new galleries, enhanced visitor services and vastly improved access through the museum's magnificent Grade 1 listed building. At its heart is the historic, round reading room, restored to its original 19th century splendour and open to the general public for the first time in its history.

Operating as an extension of the client's own organisation, Mace was required to deliver each of the three projects through early involvement in developing the brief, overall procurement strategy, cost management, selection of retail designers, master programming and management of the project team. The British Museum shop in Bloomsbury Street won the Retail Interiors Award in the small shops and single stores category.

Projects as innovative and unusual as the Great Court characteristically demand flexibility and adaptability throughout the entire construction process. Construction management provided the required level of agility in responding to the brief and Mace became an obvious choice to lead the contract.

Mace's strong, existing supply chain relationships were valuable in bringing the team up to speed quickly and optimising performance throughout.

Links

Client: The British Museum
http://www.britishmuseum.org/default.aspx

Wikipedia: British Museum
http://tinyurl.com/2uu9f3

flickr.com: pictures of the Great Court
http://tinyurl.com/2ut4rt

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