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Natural History Museum Progress

March 2017

Natural History Museum Progress

Below are some from the Natural History Museum site showing the scaffold ‘tunnel’ going up at the Museum. This is the framework required to lift, manipulate, and move the blue whale skull into position in a few weeks.

Though the main hall has had a sperm whale in it before, this was only around 15m long. In contrast, the blue whale, the largest known animal to have ever existed, is about 30m long once assembled.

Unfortunately, due to the various extensions and alterations to the Museum over time, the skull can only come in via the front doors. And – much like a very large, very heavy, very valuable sofa – it’s a case of squeezing it in at strange angles.

Somerville College Wins American Institute Award

April 2012

Niall McLaughlin Architects has received an American Institute Excellence in Design Award for the Somerville College Student Accommodation for Oxford University.  The Institute stated that this year’s awards attracted the most submissions in its 18 year history.

Somerville’s Treasurer commented, ‘We love the buildings, and our students really enjoy living there. This award is a wonderful recognition of the results of all the inspiration, hard work and attention to detail that went into the project.’