We are proud to share that Clayworks has recently been specified in two of the world’s most significant cultural institutions: the Natural History Museum, London and the newly opened Natural History Museum, Abu Dhabi.
Natural History Museum, London
The second most popular visitor attraction in the country after the British Museum, the Natural History Museum’s landmark Urban Nature Project reimagines five acres of public garden as a living archive of Earth’s evolutionary history. For the first time in the museum’s history, the east and west gardens have been unified to create a five-acre haven for people and wildlife. Together, they tell the story of life on Earth.
The new landscape, abundant with tree ferns, steep walls of rock that are angled to evoke geological formations, and small brass creatures (not forgetting a bronze dinosaur named Fern) is designed by Feilden Fowles and J&L Gibbons, alongside a multidisciplinary design team including Gitta Gschwendtner, engineers HRW and Max Fordham. This new urban oasis is a place for gathering scientific data on wildlife and environmental change, an impressive outdoor exhibition in its own right, and a city park, accessible to all.
Two new buildings sit within this setting – the Garden Kitchen and the Nature Activity Centre. The linear Garden Kitchen building is formed of limestone and timber and takes visual cues from Victorian structures such as orangeries and palm houses. Within its octagonal Garden Room, tucked under the museum’s palaeontology building, our low-carbon Rustic Arakabe clay plaster covers the faceted ceiling, complementing the project’s natural material palette and sustainability ambitions.
Natural History Museum, Abu Dhabi
As the Middle East’s largest natural history museum, NHMAD shines a light on the species that once roamed Abu Dhabi seven million years ago, when the region was a lush river landscape alive with towering megafauna.
Clayworks Rammed Earth Finish forms the dramatic backdrop to the prehistoric gallery and its approach, guiding visitors through monumental corridors inspired by ancient wadis and traditional earth architecture. Crafted from natural clays, minerals and sands, this surface finish evokes deep geological time while softening acoustics, regulating moisture, and improving air quality in the museum.
These two museum projects reflect a growing movement toward natural, low-impact materials in major cultural architecture. Finishes like our clay plaster can offer a meaningful extension of narrative, as well as proven sustainability and occupant health credentials.
Our case study for the Natural History Museum, London can be viewed here.
We look forward to sharing more about the Natural History Museum, Abu Dhabi in the coming months.
Image Credits:
Natural History Museum, London: Jim Stephenson
Natural History Museum, Abu Dhabi: Clayworks
