New spaces for four million objects.

Refurbishment and extension of the grade II-listed building in Dorchester's urban conservation area to create a ‘Collections Discovery Centre'. Basement archives rely on innovative passive climate control, while gallery spaces and workrooms use HVAC systems for controlled conditions.

The development created new facilities for display, education, research, and storage at the Museum, expanding opportunities for audiences to explore collections and stories while improving access, research potential, and public engagement. It also supports the local economy, tourism, and museum collecting capacity across Dorset.

The Museum holds around 4 million objects spanning Natural History, Geology, Archaeology, Social History, Costumes and Textiles, Photography, Literature, Fine Art, and Decorative Arts. Among its significant collections are the renowned UNESCO Jurassic Coast geology collection and a Thomas Hardy Archive listed on the UNESCO Memory of the World register. The Museum also features an extensive library, archive, and a dynamic temporary exhibitions programme in collaboration with national and regional partners.

The basement archives employ passive measures to maintain optimal preservation conditions. A highly insulated fabric minimises heat transfer, while high thermal mass materials stabilise temperature fluctuations. Hygroscopic materials regulate humidity, reducing reliance on mechanical systems. Where possible, natural ventilation enhances airflow, further optimising energy efficiency.
Gallery spaces and workrooms benefit from stable temperature and humidity through tailored HVAC systems, with full air conditioning in areas requiring even greater climate control.

Skelly & Couch collaborated with the Museum from the outset to develop an environmental control strategy balancing artefact preservation and operational efficiency. Their approach integrates recent research supporting stable conditions with minimal seasonal variation, mitigating extreme fluctuations to optimise conservation and climate control.
The development enhances public access to the Museum’s collections, deepens research opportunities, and supports the community, and enriches its the cultural and educational experience.

Photographs courtesy of Dorset Museum & Art Gallery ©

The project is a conversion of a large, leaky 1960s warehouse into a calm and light-filled south London studio/workshop/gallery/office space for the ceramics artist and writer Edmund De Waal, author of The Hare with Amber Eyes.

Building on the resounding success of UP Projects’ pilot Floating Cinema 2011 project, Morris + Company won the Open Architecture Competition to design the next phase of the acclaimed venture, conceived to offer a permanent lifespan on the water.

Skelly & Couch is contributing robust environmental engineering to all 16 buildings of a new and pioneering creative hub on the Greenwich Peninsula. The Peninsula is London's largest single regeneration project. 

The project involved the full refurbishment of all public parts of the BREEAM ‘Very Good’-rated Hall for Cornwall and the creation of a new multi-layered auditorium, which reveals the stunning historic fabric of the building to maintain its core cultural purpose to entertain.

High House Artists' Studios is a new-build development of affordable artists' studios as part of High House Production Park in Purfleet, Essex.

Known as The Lighthouse, the refurbishment and expansion of Holy Trinity Church Swiss Cottage aims to develop a multi-use community beacon on north London’s busy Finchley Road.

The project formed part of the Horniman’s wider ambition to create a better link between the museum and its gardens. The aim of the proposed new community and education building was to create an inspirational learning environment, bringing the learning experience to the outside and therefore maximising the full potential of the existing garden site.

Pioneering £8.6m regeneration of the Horniman Museum and Gardens in Forest Hill, south-east London, designed to highlight the climate emergency.

Skelly & Couch provided full environmental M&E on the David Brownlow Theatre in the grounds of Horris Hill prep school in rural Berkshire.