Leighton House Museum is a museum located in Holland Park in West London. The building was constructed for Frederic Leighton to serve as a private home combined with an art studio. Frederic Leighton was one of the founding members of the Holland Park Circle, a group of artists that were prominent in the mid-late 19th century. The construction of the site took 30 years with continuous development from the original studio. The building is Grade II* listed and is made out of red Suffolk bricks and its distinguished finishes continue with the internal design taking influence from the East Mediterranean and Near East. The museum has been open to the public since 1929 displaying pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood paintings as part of their permanent collection.
The site was awarded £1.6m from the Heritage Lottery Fund as part of the £7.8m refurbishment. BDP, the appointed architectural practice, looked to rediscover original architectural elements throughout the museum whilst providing new exhibition spaces and making the museum accessible for all. Access Lifts previously worked with BDP on the £24m refurbishment of the National Army Museum. The same project architect got in touch with Access Lifts in 2016/17 to go through first and second stage design aspects in order to create step free access routes throughout the project.
Access Lifts designed 3 solutions for the museum and were awarded the lifts package by main contractor Quinn London. The lifts package consisted of 1x passenger lift, 1x open platform lift and 1x hidden platform lift. All of the lifts were to feature bespoke bronze finishes to match designs accents throughout the museum.
The passenger lift features bronze landing doors with a brushed stainless steel lift car with mirrors on 3 sides. The lift also features drape protection to protect the lift car finishes when artwork is moved throughout the museum. The open platform lift is finished with the same bronze colour and features a side acting drive mechanism as to not disturb the existing floor of the Grade II* listed building. The hidden platform lift provides access between two split levels. The lift features wooden flooring which matches the rest of the basement flooring and a frameless glass upper landing gate. The gate is finished with the same bronze colour found through the museum.
Location: London
Status: Complete
Year Completed: 2022
To see projects similar to Leighton House Museum click on the following links:
National Army Museum | Lincoln Cathedral | St Mary’s Guildhall | Ridley Hall, Cambridge | The Newt in Somerset | York Theatre Royal
