EXHIBITSARCHIVES LIBRARIES

CULLINAN STUDIO5 Baldwin Terrace, London N1 7RU, UK

+44 (0) 20 7704 1975www.cullinanstudio.com

Contact: carol.costello@cullinanstudio.com

Cover Image_New Master Film Store for the British Film Institute (photograph by Edmund Sumner, © British Film Institute).

We are Cullinan Studio, an award-winning

practice based in London, UK, founded

by Ted Cullinan in 1965. We have been

committed to innovation and sustainability

throughout our forty five year history;

designing a wide variety of projects from

urban masterplans to individual homes, both

in the UK and abroad. Although we work in

many sectors, we have developed particular

expertise in the design of Libraries, Archives

and Visitor Centres exhibiting precious

objects; creating solutions which respond

to both the technical and cultural challenges

these projects demand.

This booklet illustrates some of the buildings we have designed to preserve and display special collections such as cinematic film, audio and video tape, rare books, photographs, illustrations, artefacts and herbarium specimens. We hope you find it intriguing, and we would be happy to discuss any plans your organisation may have to improve existing or create new buildings for your collections.

CULLINAN STUDIO

BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE MASTER FILM STORE

A pioneering new, sub-zero archive for the world’s most significant collection of nitrate and acetate master films

Cullinan Studio has designed a pioneering new building for the British Film Institute (BFI) to preserve their master collections of nitrate and acetate film.

We led a detailed feasibility study which

concluded that the existing archive buildings

could not be suitably upgraded, and that a

new sub-zero storage facility large enough

to house all master acetate and nitrate

material should be created at the earliest

opportunity.

The building is now complete and over

300,000 film canisters containing the UK’s

film heritage will be moved to their new

vaults in the autumn of 2011.

The solution is the result of intense research

and collaboration between architect,

engineers, film experts and the BFI to define

the best solution for storing such a large

collection of film sustainably, for the next 50

years and beyond.

The vaults will keep the film in very cold,

dry conditions of -5oC at 35% relative

humidity, while the construction enables

this environment to be created in an energy

efficient way.

Pre-cast concrete panels provide the

thermal mass required to limit temperature

fluctuations. Although the building form

is quite simple, consisting of 36 repetitive

previous page_Cross section through the building showing large acetate vaults in the centre surrounded by smaller nitrate vaults round the perimeter, all serviced by air handling plant on the roof.

opposite_Fire shrouds and over pressure panels to the nitrate film cells are designed to cope with the unique characteristics of a nitrate fire. The building is designed with resilience to maintain sub-zero conditions, thereby eliminating the risk of a nitrate fire (photograph by Edmund Sumner, © British Film Institute).

above_Image of deteriorating nitrate film. Acetate and nitrate films are susceptible to chemical reactions which decay the film over time. Sub-zero storage will arrest this decay. continued

cellular vaults for either nitrate of acetate

film, the specification requires extremely low

air leakage rate of 0.3m3/hr/m2@50Pa, and

must withstand extreme heat in the unlikely

event of a nitrate film fire. Rigorous analysis,

detailing, quality control and testing has

been carried out to ensure the building

will provide the sub–zero temperature, low

humidity and fire prevention that the film

requires for its preservation.

The building is the first of its kind to store

such large quantities of film in such cold and

dry conditions; it will also achieve a BREEAM

Rating of ‘Excellent’ for its sustainable

features.

opposite_View of entrance and workshop area adjacent to the film vaults

above_Mobile shelving in place ready for acetate film collections to be loaded in. Extensive analysis of shelving types was carried out to ensure the best solution for the collections and BFI staff.

(Photographs by Edmund Sumner, © British Film Institute)

BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE CONSERVATION CENTRE

MODERNISATION

above_British Cameraman, Jack Cardiff, with a technicolour camera (Image from the BFI Stills Collection and used with permission of the British Film Institute).

opposite_Extract of the phasing plan devised for up to twenty sequenced work packages to modernise the existing layout.

Having established a successful working relationship with the BFI while designing their Master Film Store, we were asked to assist them with developing a masterplan for the phased improvement of their Conservation Centre in Berkhamsted, UK.

The original 1980s building was designed for

the workflow required for copying nitrate

film onto acetate film; a process which is

now obsolete. However, the need for new

digitisation suites and areas for paper

conservation have become a priority for

the BFI. As a consequence of master copies

of acetate film moving to the new Master

Film Store, one of the existing film vaults at

Berkhamsted is available to be converted to

an environment suitable for the Photographic

Stills Collection and other media.

We consulted with the BFI to devise

packages of work that could be funded

separately, be logically sequenced and offer

the best value in terms flexibility for future.

All this was done while considering how to

make the building fabric and its services

more energy efficient to reduce running cost

and improve the environment for collections

and people.

ST JOHN’S COLLEGE LIBRARYUNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

A sensitive extension and remodelling of this historic library, providing new reading areas and rare book preservation.

Our expertise in library projects began with a new library for St John’s College at the University of Cambridge, which was completed in 1994. The existing collection of books and manuscripts had long outgrown its 17C library and a new modern library was urgently needed.

Our design is located in the shell of the 1888

Penrose building, adjacent to the existing

library. The original brief called for the

southern part of the building to be replaced

with a climatically controlled box with a

sealed skin and air conditioning. We advised

that the Penrose building should be saved

and adapted to meet the environmental

requirements.

In order to provide a modern learning space,

the interior was cleared and a new cross axis

with entrance porch and apse was added.

This created the space for well-lit corner

reading bays that have delightful views over

Chapel Court or the Master’s garden. Indeed,

the library is characterised by its integration

of a wide variety of comfortable reading

spaces with the book collection.

opposite_ Study areas overlooking the enquiry desk.

top left_The new library offers a variety of places for study.

bottom left_Drawing showing the new library and courtyard carefully integrated with the existing college buildings.

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HERBARIUM, LIBRARY, ART AND ARCHIVEROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW

A new wing to the historic Herbarium at Kew, providing modern environments to preserve and study herbarium specimens, rare books and botanic illustrations.

The original Herbarium at Kew has housed a botanic library and dried plant specimens since 1853. In order for Kew to maintain its status as a world leader in plant science they appointed us to design a modern archive wing which would house collections in a sustainable environment to protect them from fire, flood, humidity and infestation.

We worked closely with the botanists,

librarians and Kew publication team to

ensure we met the requirements of their

highly specific technical brief to create an

innovative building providing a reading

room, research areas, storage vaults and

photo studio to aid digitisation of the

collections.

The site is extremely sensitive, and careful

consultation was required with the World

Heritage Steering Group, ICOMOS, English

Heritage, the Thames Landscape Strategy,

and local conservation and interest groups

in order to achieve an appropriate response

to the unique context and gain planning

permission. The building design is sustainable

with a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating.

previous page_Undulating cedar clad elevation of the new wing (photograph by Tim Soar).

opposite_The new Reading Room provides secure access to precious material (photograph by Tim Soar).

above_A herbarium specimen collected by Charles Darwin in 1833 is one of the many priceless items held in Kew’s collections (image courtesy of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew).

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N e w H e r b a r i u m a n d L i b r a r y W i n g a t t h e R o y a l B o t a n i c G a r d e n s , K e w

Design Statement • March 2005 • Prepared by EDWARD CULLINAN ARCHITECTS

Each specimen represents a unique data point for a particular species in space and time. These specimens are the fundamental resource needed for any meaningful scientific study of the diversity of plants on our planet.

The Kew Herbarium is unique in its global coverage, including representatives of all plant families, almost all plant genera and the majority of the world’s known plant species (estimated at 400,000 species). It is also exceptionally well-curated, making it the preferred facility for identifying plant collections from many areas of the world. Many of the specimens are also of great historical interest, both to botanists (e.g. specimens collected by Spruce in S. America and the Wallich Herbarium of mostly tropical Asiatic material) and to the layperson (e.g. plants collected by Captains Speke and Grant when searching for the source of the Nile, by Charles Darwin during the Beagle voyage, and by John Kirk, the doctor on Livingstone’s Zambesi expedition of 1859). The oldest pressed specimen was collected in India in 1700. Older still are fruits and other plant fragments discovered in the tomb of Tutankhamun and sent to Kew for identification by Howard Carter in the 1920s.

The Library has one of the world’s largest collections of publications relating to the scientific study of plant diversity and to botany more broadly:

• 150,000 monographs with printed materials from the 15th century onwards;• 4,000 periodical titles (of which 1,500 are currently received);• 140,000 pamphlets and reprints;• 11,000 sheet maps including those of many historic expeditions;• 11,000 microforms including all available herbaria;• 200,000 prints and drawings - including originals by many of the world’s greatest botanical artists, ranging in date from G D Ehret and Franz and Ferdinand Bauer in the 18th century, through Walter Hood Fitch in the 19th, to Lillian Snelling, Margaret Stones, Mary Grierson, Pandora Sellars and Margaret Mee in our own time. There is also an extensive collection of portraits of botanists.

Materials are acquired from all over the world, by gift, exchange, and purchase; over 90 languages are represented. The Collections are held in the Main Library at Kew and six branch libraries, including Wakehurst Place in West Sussex, the site of the Millennium Seed Bank. The Library & Archives makes essential contributions to RBG Kew’s work by curating and enhancing its unique portfolio of visual reference collections, making them available for consultation, and providing assistance and training to users. The Library & Archives has a team of 20, including professional librarians, archivists, a paper conservator, and administrative staff.

The Archives have over 7 million sheets, in 4,600 collections; these are mostly Public Records, and the Library is the approved place of deposit for them under Public Records legislation. They contain unpublished information on the exploration, discovery and investigation of the world’s plants and fungi, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition there are letters of botanists such as Sir Joseph Banks, George Bentham, Sir William and Sir Joseph Hooker, Charles Darwin and Richard Spruce.

The Need for the New Wing to the Herbarium and Library Complex

The baseline research carried out in the Herbarium and Library using the collections, together with the rapid dissemination of the information derived from them, is fundamental to any rational planning for the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources. Kew is the world’s most prolific publisher of plant diversity research with ca. 400 publications currently authored or co-authored

by Kew staff every year, ranging from surveys and inventories to evolutionary and conservation studies.

However, the facilities for carrying out these functions in the current Herbarium/Library complex, as well as in the scattered ISD accommodation, have long ceased to suffice, creating significant impediments to the work of staff, students and visitors. The specific problems of the current situation can grouped under three main headings:

i) Accommodation (storage space for collections; work space for staff, students and visitors)ii) Access (to the collections and information) iii) Protection (for collections)

i) Accommodation (for the collections and staff, students and visitors)

Accommodation for both collections and staff in the current complex is now seriously inadequate. This issue has arisen several times through the 150 years of the building’s existence. The last new wing to be built was Wing D, which was opened in 1969. The Quadrangle development in the middle of the complex was completed in 1988 as an interim storage area and there have been small additions for staff and specimen accommodation since.

The accommodation in the present Main Library was opened in 1969 with a design capacity of 30 years’ expansion. It is now overcrowded and wholly inadequate for the needs of staff, students and visitors. It has poor facilities for users, inadequate security and there are no facilities for public exhibition and access.

In terms of staffing, the people who work in ISD are scattered among several buildings on the Kew site and teams are fragmented. Communication, coordination and the harnessing of potential synergies are inhibited. At the same time, Kew is becoming increasingly reliant on its information to help it respond quickly and effectively to changing public and scientific needs and circumstances. ISD’s ability to provide essential support services is severely inhibited by current arrangements.

Storage Space (for collections)

Storage space for herbarium specimens is now reaching crisis point, to the extent that material has had to be stored in basement areas of the current complex. Temporarily, some 140,000 specimens have been removed 40 miles away to Kew’s satellite garden at Wakehurst Place in Sussex, making ready access to this material extremely difficult. Even this temporary off-site storage has only marginally relieved the problem within the Herbarium building itself, where cupboards are full in many places, which results in damage to the specimens and impedes proper curation. Despite the best efforts of the staff, the Wings remain crowded with material awaiting processing and incorporation, thereby diminishing accessibility to important specimens, reducing essential working space adjacent to the collections, and increasing risk of damage to the material itself. New accessions into the collections have amounted to ca. 42,000 specimens per year on average over the last 20 years from numerous sources. This influx of new material is important for maintaining and developing the scientific usefulness of the collections, but compounds the problem of safe and secure storage space. Further consequences of these problems are that staff time is wasted in unnecessary reorganisation to try and alleviate space problems, and that the taxonomic arrangement of the collection, which is essential when identifying unnamed material, is disrupted.

Charles Darwin Sir Joseph Banks

‘Strelitzia’ drawn by Franz Bauer

Senecio darwinii; collected by Darwin in 1833

Olea europa; specimen of olives and olive leaves found in Tutankhamen’s tomb

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opposite_New entrance to the Herbarium clad in Western Red Cedar from the Duchy of Cornwall Estate (photograph by Tim Soar).

above_The Rare Book Room with its display window on to the Reading Room (photograph by Tim Soar)

top right_Inside the herbarium vaults: the Kew ‘green box’ became the unit of measurement for the mobile shelving and the building as a whole.

bottom right_Undulating passage leading to the archive vaults.

INTERPRETATION CENTREPETRA, JORDAN

A new visitors centre to convey the fascinating history of this World Heritage Site. .

The World Heritage Site of Petra is one of the new seven wonders of the world. Our design for the gateway building to this 1000 BC Nabataean Capital choreographs the experience of arrival and the movement around the site to increase the sense of mystery and expectation; to maintain the aura of a ‘lost’ city that ‘reluctantly’ reveals its secrets to the visitor.

The design was approved by UNESCO, the

World Bank and the Ministry of Tourism and

Antiquities (MoTA). The major building forms

are based on the typical natural features of

the ancient Nabataean world. A steep slope

across the site provides the opportunity to

vary the levels inside, which helps to lock the

building into its setting and create the effect

of an internal landscape.

We ‘wrapped’ the exhibition galleries around

a garden of frankincense and myrrh trees;

whose incense created the trade routes that

were the foundation of the great wealth

of the Nabataeans. We worked with local

experts and Land Design Studios to research

the collection of artefacts that will support

the interpretative galleries.

Our building shades and cools its visitors

by natural means, and collects and stores

winter rainfall in great cisterns to irrigate the

central garden; all as the Nabataeans would

have done.

previous page_Visitors enter an elliptical garden, descend through the galleries and then emerge to start their journey through the Petra wadi valley.

opposite_View of the interpretation gallery.

top left_The famous Treasury carved out of the valley walls of Petra .

bottom left_ Nabateaen artefacts to be displayed in the exhibition galleries.

JOHN HOPE GATEWAYROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, EDINBURGH

The long awaited gateway building to the Gardens conveys the mission of the botanists working there through its interpretive exhibition and education spaces; all set within a contemporary new landscape.

The John Hope Gateway building is a threshold into the world of the Botanic Garden, as well as to the visitor facilities and event spaces. It houses exhibitions, indoor and outdoor education spaces, a media studio, shops, a restaurant and a new biodiversity garden.

The project was designed and developed

in collaboration with representatives of

the 400 RBGE staff and Scottish Natural

Heritage. The process included many user

group meetings and workshops, culminating

in funding from the Scottish Executive

Environment & Rural Affairs department.

A porous ground floor allows visitors to

enter and leave the building from different

points and flow freely into different areas

of the building. A curved glass wall looks

out onto the biodiversity garden, taking the

interpretation story of the Garden into the

landscape. The upper floor contains flexible

event facilities and catering - a space that

can accommodate large assemblies of

visitors.

Flexible spaces that can respond to topical

events are allied to a permanent exhibition.

The public are able to interact closely with

the scientists and researchers in a ‘Real Life

Sciences’ studio. Botanists at work around

the world are able to interact via a media

centre.

previous page_View of the John Hope Gateway from the Botanic Garden (photograph Paul Raftery).

opposite_Evening view of cafe terrace overlooking the Botanic Garden (photograph Paul Raftery).

above_Entrance planted with tree ferns; this is the both the gateway to the Botanic Garden and to the building’s exhibition, cafe and shop (photograph Matt Laver). continued

The building includes various low energy

environmental solutions, including a biomass

boiler, a green roof for rainwater harvesting,

a wind turbine, natural ventilation and

passive night-time cooling.

In the past year, the Gateway has boosted

visitor numbers to the Garden by a third

and catering and hospitality turnover has

more than doubled; the Garden has seen

a threefold increase in bookings for events

and a 200 per cent rise in sales at is shop.

opposite_Cafe with its hand-crafted furniture made from trees felled in the gardens, and its precision engineered timber structure forming the canopy above. The pattern of the acoustic panels has been cut to the microscopic texture of cellulose.

above_Exhibitions have been integrated to tell their story in the context of views to the Garden.

(Photographs by Paul Raftery).

CULLINAN STUDIO5 Baldwin Terrace,London N1 7RU, UK+44 (0) 20 7704 1975www.cullinanstudio.comcontact: carol.costello@cullinanstudio.com