The Royal Observatory in Greenwich will be revitalised for future generations
Royal Observatory Greenwich
Celebrating its 350th anniversary in 2025, The Royal Observatory Greenwich will be revitalised to ensure it is fit for the future. The project's name First Light, is inspired by the telescope's history of first discovering the night sky.
Key information
Architect
Jamie Fobert Architects
Client
Royal Museums Greenwich
Value
Undisclosed
Location
Greenwich, London
Services
Challenge
The project is an investment in the longevity of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, preserving and enhancing it for future generations. The site is protected and highly valued, so the interventions must be sensitive to the historic fabric. The Royal Greenwich Observatory receives almost one million visitors annually, yet it is not fully accessible and has limited additional learning spaces.
Revitalising a historic landmark
The redevelopment will create a new and welcoming entrance pavilion for the whole site, giving the Observatory a greater presence, and providing orientation and enhanced access into the site. All of the publicly accessible gallery spaces will be refurbished and will contain a new series of exhibitions. A new flexible multifunctional space, Astronomers’ Court, will expand the existing Planetarium building and provide additional space for exhibitions and 'science busking'.
A new landscape scheme and 'garden walk' linking the north and south ends of the site will significantly improve circulation accessibility, providing an improved and coherent visitor journey. A new external staircase and lift to the Meridian Building and Great Equatorial Building will improve accessibility, opening up these buildings to more visitors. A new café and retail spaces will also be created.
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The observatory with new entrance area
©Jamie Fobert Architects
A section of the observatory and external staircase
©Jamie Fobert Architects
The new Astronomers' Court
©Jamie Fobert Architects
The Royal Observatory Greenwich's new entrance
©Jamie Fobert Architects
A sustainable future
The project will eliminate the use of fossil fuels on-site by removing existing gas boilers, and new electrically driven air source heat pumps (ASHPs) will meet the heating demand and provide some cooling. To reduce sound, the ASHPs will be installed away from most public areas to limit the impact on visitors.
The new Astronomers' Court extension will be built to high energy efficiency standards to minimise energy use and carbon emissions. This includes using high-efficiency LEDs for all artificial lighting, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery to provide fresh and conditioned air, and optimising the building fabric.
Other small new buildings, such as the North Café and ticket kiosk, will operate as low-energy buildings without the need for significant heating, cooling, or ventilation systems.
Since all of the existing buildings are listed as having significant historic importance, sustainable interventions are limited. However, shifting away from gas boilers to electrically driven heat pumps will have significant impact on decarbonising the existing buildings. The transition to electric will immediately reduce emissions associated with heating the existing buildings and will also allow for further emission reductions as the electricity grid decarbonises.
It is estimated that the project proposals and changing the heating system to ASHPs will reduce the site’s CO2 emissions by 59%.
Quote
“We are delighted to be involved with such a significant project in the long history of the Royal Observatory. It is exciting to help the museum address the current climate emergency in phasing out the use of fossil fuels, whilst transforming the site and visitor experience.”
John Bone
MPhys
Principal Engineer
Partner
