A new storage building for the most sensitive collections and records in the care of Imperial War Museums (IWM) by innovative design firm and specialists in sustainability, Architype, has recently been completed. The 1,238-square-metre facility, called IWM Paper Store, preserves artworks, photographs, letters and diaries documenting warfare of the 20th and 21st century.
The building, located in the historical conservation area of IWM Duxford, is a single storey box form, designed to complement the existing historic buildings on the site. An oxidised steel façade offers thoughtful detail, consisting of ground-to-roof panels that signify each year of archived collections from 1914 onwards. Perforations in the panels denote the quantity of collected documentation, with noteworthy years around wartimes being heavily perforated in accordance with the volume collected. The plain and uninterrupted patina of the oxidised steel also complements the colour and texture of the historic brickwork already on the site.
What’s more, the weathering-steel panels utilised for the exterior are known to get harder and stronger with time, creating a metaphor for what the structure houses – an archive (which also gets stronger with time and continual additions). According to the International Passivhaus Association, the building also records the best result for airtightness in the world. Additionally, the highly refined and efficient construction features an extremely stable internal environment that does not require much mechanical control of the temperature and humidity.
The innovative new building will support IWM’s mission to preserve stories of human conflict, and how it has shaped our present world, and also help future generations to better understand the causes, course and consequences of war.
