Who designed the neoclassical building of the British Museum in London?

Robert Smirke designed the neoclassical building of the British Museum in London. His Greek Revival design is most recognizable in the monumental façade on Great Russell Street.

Construction of Smirke’s museum complex began in the 1820s on the site of Montagu House. The building is faced with Portland stone and organized around a large quadrangle. Its principal façade has 43 Ionic columns, each about 45 feet high, drawing directly on ancient Greek architectural models.

Smirke served as the museum’s architect during the main phase of its nineteenth-century expansion. The pediment above the entrance was later decorated with Richard Westmacott’s sculptural group, The Progress of Civilisation. The building’s restrained geometry, classical orders, and archaeological references made it a defining British example of Greek Revival architecture, closely associated with neoclassicism.

A common mix-up is Sydney Smirke, Robert’s younger brother. Sydney became the museum’s architect in 1846 and designed important later additions, including the Round Reading Room, but Robert designed the principal original building.