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Story Museum, Oxford

Purcell with Ramboll UK has transformed three diverse buildings into a city-centre home for the museum, which previously existed only in virtual form

The Story Museum
The Story Museum Credit: Diane Auckland

Purcell with Ramboll UK and exhibition designers led by RFK Architects and Tom Piper for The Story Museum
Contract value: Confidential
GIA: 2,062m²

Three diverse buildings including a 1930s telephone exchange and 19th century house have been combined to make a permanent city-centre home for the Story Museum, an unusual institution that previously existed in virtual form, visiting schools to celebrate stories told in every form.

Visitors entering its central courtyard via a former carriageway are instantly transported to a make-believe world, with facades painted to resemble a cloudy sky or wrapped in galvanised steel stairs and walkways leading to a timber-clad passenger lift that recalls a treehouse.

A dished concrete floor hosts public events and resolves changes in level between buildings, where judicious adaptations improve access and energy performance. Much of the fabric and original character have been preserved while allowing fantastical displays by nine exhibition designers to sing.

  • The Story Museum
    The Story Museum Credit: Diane Auckland
  • The Story Museum
    The Story Museum Credit: Diane Auckland
  • The Story Museum
    The Story Museum Credit: Diane Auckland
  • The Story Museum
    The Story Museum Credit: Diane Auckland
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