Natural History Museum, University of Oxford
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The Oxford University Museum of Natural History houses priceless scientific collections of zoological, entomological, and geological specimens. The museum building itself is a spectacular neo-Gothic Grade 1 listed building.
CBG worked with the University of Oxford, Zumtobel lighting, and Bega on the design of the new main gallery lighting system and controls. While the interior scaffolding was in place for work on the glass roof, the delicate cabling operation was undertaken. Cables had to be sensitively placed to not interfere with the fabric of the building, while still providing the power to illuminate the vast interior spaces. A bespoke magnetic fastening was developed for the project, allowing all cables and light fittings to be fixed to the ironwork without drilling.
The museum now has a state-of-the-art DALI lighting control system. This enables curators to set the lighting according to different events and exhibitions. These controls can be activated using mobile devices making it effortless for staff to magically illuminate the museum at the swipe of a finger.
Architect
Purcell
Value of Project
£750k (lighting budget)
Client
University of Oxford
Completion
2013
Engineers
Chris Dicks
Associate Director
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