National Art Library

The National Art Library (NAL) is a prestigious reference library located in the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), dedicated to the fine and decorative arts of various countries and periods. QLL was contracted to undertake the roof replacement project for the library.

The project involved several risks, which we successfully mitigated. One major challenge was the glass ceiling of the National Art Library beneath the existing roof coverings. To ensure the safety of the ceiling and the library users below, we installed a completely sealed timber crash deck, which also acted as a working platform for the roof installation, thereby eliminating the risk associated with “working at height.”

Another significant risk was the terracotta panels and mouldings that comprised the historic facade of the library building, which could not be used to brace any scaffolding. We designed a full facade elevation scaffold with temporary roof coverings, using a water butt kentledge system that did not require ties to be drilled into the historic facade.

The V&A expressed their satisfaction with the speed of project delivery and the logistics implemented to safeguard the external facade of the Grade I-listed building during the works.

• GRADE I LISTED
• OCCUPIED BUILDING