In addition to the new classroom incorporated into the Sustainable Museums Project we have been instructed to prepare design proposals for a new, combined, education visits and staff/offices entrance and reception area from Wellington Street, incorporating a new “meet & greet” area for schools parties, together with new visitor toilets. The key to unlocking the design potential of this brief has been to remove the existing, somewhat tortuous, staircase and to replace it with a traditional, straight up and down, stair in a different position. This has enabled us to create two separate entrances with sufficient space for a combined reception desk, easing congestion and simplifying the arrival of schools parties. The “meet & greet” area has been designed in the form of a miniature amphitheatre offset to one side of the main thoroughfare, where on the other side the new male & female visitor toilets, with increased capacity, have been introduced, including separate facilities for families and wheelchair disabled. We have also found sufficient space to include a small servery off the schools lunches area and a restroom adjacent to the main entrance.
