feilden fowles to design new building for the uk's national railway museum

feilden fowles, the london-based architecture studio led by fergus feilden and edmund fowles, has been selected to to design a new central hall for the UK’s national railway museum. the firm was chosen ahead of four other teams: 6a architects with OFFICE kersten geers david van severen, atelier d’architecture philippe prost, carmody groarke, and heneghan peng architects. with a construction budget of £16.5 million, the building will transform the visitor arrival experience with a new entrance space, integrating the museum estate for the first time in its history. this 4,500 square meter centerpiece building will also contain a 1,000 square meter gallery intended to showcase the museum’s renowned collection.

winning proposal: image © feilden fowles (also main image)

the five teams were responding to a brief that called for the central hall to be environmentally sustainable as well as sensitive to the railway heritage of the surrounding buildings and the city of york. the jury praised feilden fowles’ winning concept for its elegance, its ambitious energy strategy, and its intriguing new visitor journeys. inspired by the site’s former uses, the design references the history of locomotive roundhouses and railway turntables with its central two-storey rotunda, which is clad with recycled patinated copper and lit with high clerestory glazing.

winning proposal: image © feilden fowles

the national railway museum is ranked among the most popular attractions in the UK and welcomed 782,000 visitors in 2018-19. located close to the center of york, a city in northeast england, the museum sits within a larger industrial site that was originally developed in the mid- to late-19th century. surrounded by the remnants of this industry, the museum is today dominated by railway heritage and infrastructure. however, york central — a 45-hectare redevelopment comprising of a series of new city center residential and business neighborhoods — plans to transform the disused estate.

shortlisted proposal: image © 6a architects and OFFICE kersten geers david van severen

selected from a field of 76 entries, the other shortlisted teams (in alphabetical order) were as follows: 6a architects with OFFICE kersten geers david van severen; atelier d’architecture philippe prost; carmody groarke; and heneghan peng architects. the project intends to open in time for the national railway museum’s 50th anniversary in 2025.

shortlisted proposal: image © 6a architects and OFFICE kersten geers david van severen