Museum of Making Derby Silk Mill

by Bauman Lyons Architects Ltd 

Client Derby Museums Trust  

Project Architect Guy Smith 

Awards RIBA East Midlands Award 2023, RIBA East Midlands Architect of the Year Award 2023, RIBA East Midlands Client of Year Award 2023 

In the heart of the city of Derby is a building that represents the heritage of creative manufacture in the region, past, present, and future – be it the mills from the forefront of the industrial revolution that stretch north up the Derwent Valley, or closer to the city itself and its industry of planes, trains, and automobiles. To attempt to interpret all of this in a museum is no easy feat and one that required a new way of thinking. The chosen location for the museum was the site of what is believed  to have been the world’s first mechanised factory – a former silk mill, rebuilt in the late 19th century.  

Read the full citation from the RIBA Awards Jury on RIBA Journal.

Contractor Speller Metcalfe Ltd 

Exhibition and Interpretation Design The Creative Core 

Structural Engineer GCA Consulting Civil and Structural Engineers 

Integrated Projects Insurance Provider and Soft Landings/Post Occupancy Consultant IP Initiatives 

Environmental / M&E Engineer Preston Barber 

Environmental / M&E Engineer Derry Building Services 

Sustainability Ridge and Partners LLP 

Gross internal area in m2 4076