London museum

Project Description

Situated in the Smithfield Conservation area the project sees the restoration and refurbishment of the Grade II Listed Market buildings at West Smithfield in London. This will provide an iconic new landmark home for the London Museum, including a world-class exhibition, gallery spaces and a working collections store.

The new museum will occupy two of Smithfield’s iconic market buildings including the Victorian General Market and adjacent 1960s Poultry Market, saving these historic structures for future generations. The new site will benefit from more accessible transport links, with Farringdon station just a short walk away, with the new Elizabeth line, as well as Circle, Hammersmith and City, and Metropolitan underground lines, and Thameslink trains.

Displays at the new museum are due to open in 2026 and will cover key moments in the city’s history from the Roman era to the 2012 London Olympics and the digital age. The ground floor level will retain the feel of the former marketplace, acting as a civic space that will host exhibitions and events curated and designed by the city’s creative talent, and in partnership with Londoners. 

The museum is also being formulated on top of live Thameslink and Metropolitan & Circle London Underground tube lines and the basement will feature a live viewing window from which visitors can see the passing trains in real-time.

Real PM’s Role 

Real PM has been providing project management services at the London Museum since 2023.

Our role has continued to evolve in line with the progress of the scheme with Real PM playing a key role in the ongoing interface between base build and exhibition fit-out teams managing both client and design discovery-driven design change and assisting the Museum team and Sir Robert McAlpine to with implementing changes required to align with the delivery programme.