The Roman Baths Learning and World Heritage Centre is a transformational reuse of a series of Grade II listed former industrial buildings along Swallow Street, set at the heart of Bath’s UNESCO World Heritage Site. The project created a new, publicly accessible learning and visitor facility for one of Britain’s most significant archaeological and cultural landmarks, extending engagement with the Roman Baths far beyond the museum’s historic confines.

Led by Lee Holcombe, founding director of studio four point ten, during his tenure at Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, the scheme responds to a highly sensitive context that includes listed buildings, a Conservation Area, and Scheduled Ancient Monument archaeology below ground. Previously underused Victorian service spaces and former laundry buildings were carefully repaired, adapted, and reconnected to form a sequence of inspiring learning environments, including a unique below-street-level space that integrates learning activities directly alongside in situ Roman remains.

The design embraced minimal intervention, improving the thermal performance of historic fabric while retaining its character, and introducing a lightweight new storey within the footprint of a former water cistern. This careful balance of conservation, structural innovation, and architectural clarity resulted in a RIBA Award-winning project, demonstrating how historic infrastructure can be reimagined to support contemporary education, community engagement, and heritage interpretation within an exceptionally sensitive setting.