Great Russell Street

In 2025, Periscope were asked to develop a design concept for Great Russell Street, the gateway to the British Museum, in support of LB Camden’s Holborn Liveable Neighbourhoods project. The wider project will upgrade the streets and public realm around Holborn.

Our work established the technical and narrative objectives for the public realm upgrades. As well as the technical performance of the street in terms of green infrastructure, sustainable urban drainage and climate resilience; our study sought to incorporate a narrative story related to the street as part of a global city and a part of the visitor experience of the British Museum.

We proposed an approach to materiality and green infrastructure which was related to the geography of the museum’s collection. For instance, a planting palette which is both climate change adapted but also drawn from the diverse places which the museum represents.