The number nine bus is one of the famous ones in the London Transport Museum, and the copy tells the story of how Atellier 10 saved it from the ravages of the weather below:

The old Covent Garden Flower Market has housed the London Transport Museum for many years. The task here was to completely redisplay all of the exhibits within the existing shell, to make them more accessible to over quarter of a million visitors a year .

The first curatorial requirement was to protect key elements of the collection. This was achieved by constructing three new galleries with close-control of temperature and humidity to house unique exhibits, including maps, original posters and artworks.

The second priority was to improve the environment throughout the main exhibition halls. A much-needed task as some of the exhibits are the only ones of their kind, and were suffering degradation from pollution, ultraviolet radiation and the adverse effects of an elderly overhead radiant heating system, which was slowly vulcanising the rubberised tops of the buses and trams.

The solutions included applying a solar reflective film externally to the extensive skylights , and retractable fabric blinds internally, to cut out 99% of the uv radiation and reduce heat gain and glare.

High velocity ducted air was selected as the optimum method for heating and ventilating the main museum space. Incoming air inlets are triple-filtered to remove airborne particles, and the building positively pressurised to decrease the effects of atmospheric pollution. The natural porosity of the Victorian envelope provides the system outlet.

As part of the project, a computerised Building Management System was designed and installed for the entire complex, providing control and management of the heating, lighting, blinds and all of the interactive and audio visual exhibition material in the visitors’ displays.