Queen Elizabeth II Great Court

The Queen Elizabeth II Great Court is a covered courtyard in the center of the British Museum in Bloomsbury, London. The curved glass roof spans the entire rectangular courtyard and brings daylight into the largest covered public square in Europe.

The courtyard was completed in 2000 following a design by Foster and Partners and had been used as storage space for over a century before that. The transformation followed the relocation of the British Library to a new building in the late 1990s.

The original Victorian Reading Room dome stands free in the center and now serves as an information point and café. Visitors use the surrounding galleries and staircases to move between different exhibition areas while walking through the bright interior space.

The courtyard is accessible during museum opening hours and offers free admission for anyone wishing to visit the central hall. Lifts and ramps provide access to the upper levels and to exhibition rooms on all floors.

The steel structure weighs around 800 tons and was assembled by Waagner-Biro from Austria in just six months. Each glass panel has a different shape because the triangular grid replicates the curved surface over the rectangular floor plan.

Location: Bloomsbury

Architects: Foster and Partners

GPS coordinates: 51.51944,-0.12694

Latest update: December 5, 2025 22:29