Our Herbarium contains around seven million preserved vascular plant specimens. These specimens contain a wealth of information about plants that have been collected around the world over the past 170 years and are central to Kew’s research activity. The specimens are currently housed within the Herbarium, a complex of historic and modern buildings located at the north end of the site. As the risks to the collections (environmental conditions, flooding, fire, impact, pests, etc.) have become better understood and as the size of the collection has increased, the need to better protect the building and its contents has become a major concern for Kew. The current facility also does not provide capacity to grow, and the existing site is significantly constrained. To meet strategic objectives, Kew is exploring the development of a new purpose-built, state-of-the-art herbarium building at locations outside the Kew estate, including Thames Valley Science Park at Reading, close to new collections facilities for both British Museum and Natural History Museum. The building is expected to be circa 15,000m² and include collections space, research areas, offices, and library facilities. The estimated construction budget is £50m+. The project is part of a wider Science Transformation Programme looking to improve Science collections and infrastructure across Kew.
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