Restoring the roof and building climate resilience

The 20th-century gallery at the Grade II*-listed Brighton Museum occupies the site of the former Adelaide Stables, built between 1803 and 1805 as part of the Royal Pavilion estate, and was converted into a Museum in 1873. The gallery was created by roofing over the original stables’ courtyard with a glazed lantern above a coffered laylight, producing a dramatic top-lit exhibition space. However, the roof lantern (installed to replace a previous lantern in 1960) was thermally inefficient, causing significant fluctuations in temperature and humidity that threatened both the building and its collections. Attempts to control daylight and UV exposure had obscured the lantern and laylight, meaning the original design intent for the space had been lost.

The project replaces the non-original lantern with an insulated lead roof while conserving and upgrading the surrounding historic roofscape. Artificial lighting above the reinstated translucent laylight recreates the effect of a top-lit gallery without exposing the collections to harmful UV light.

Gutters have been redesigned to improve maintenance, cleaning access, and increase their capacity to exceed current standards and provide resilience to ever-increasing rainfall events and Brighton’s coastal environment in the context of climate change.

Additional improvements include safer maintenance access, upgraded fire protection, and service rationalisation. The project demonstrates how thoughtful adaptation can safeguard historic buildings and ensure their long-term future.