De Matos Ryan's considered interventions at York's National Railway Museum transform a former locomotive repair workshop into an interactive space to delight all ages. The scheme has been named Yorkshire Building of the Year
2025 RIBA Yorkshire Award
2025 RIBA Yorkshire Building of the Year sponsored by EH Smith
2025 RIBA Yorkshire Project Architect of the Year Jose Esteve de Matos
Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery, York
De Matos Ryan for National Railway Museum
Contract value: £3.5m
GIA: 1,498 m2
Cost per m2: £2,336
The National Railway Museum (NRM) in York has long been a much-loved cultural destination for railway and heritage enthusiasts. Building on this appeal, the Science Museum Group is implementing a transformational programme across the museum to inspire new generations of fans, of which Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery is an integral part.
Wonderlab has intergenerational appeal, but with a particular focus on inspiring children aged 7 to 14 through railway-themed principles related to STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
Housed in the former locomotive repair workshop – the spirit of which can still be felt – the space retains the layered history and authenticity of the original but with an additional calm material palette and graphic treatment that brings the scheme together. The result is an interior that feels welcoming, light and playful without shouting too loudly, enabling the interactive exhibits and large-scale art installations to take centre stage.
Two inspired art commissions add to the overall experience. The works, by northern-based artists Pippa Hale and Steve Messam, have been cleverly integrated, bringing joy and wonder, as well as a reminder of the ‘A’ in STEAM – a learning approach that does not sideline Art.
The architects have brilliantly handled the project, with controlled and considered design interventions that celebrate the creative process and language of railway engineering principles, and take inspiration from the museum’s key exhibits and concepts. The jury particularly loved the inspiration for the Wallace Learning Space, with its ceiling of circular apertures which prompt a peek at the boiler structure of the Ellerman Lines steam locomotive directly outside the gallery.
Conceived as an engineering playground, this playful space is expertly executed with extensive attention to detail, developed through an impressive process of consultation and co-design which is also very evident. To create the interactives, a 16-month prototyping process involved 1,300-plus individuals, including rail and education experts, local community groups and the public. Experts in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) together with interest groups ensured that the gallery is accessible and inclusive for all, with dedicated spaces to manage acoustics.
The overall quality of the gallery is outstanding, and testament to the client’s intelligent and ambitious brief, but also credit to a design team whose members have meticulously delivered.
View all of our Yorkshire winners here, and all our RIBA UK Award winners here.
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RIBA Regional Awards 2025 sponsored by Autodesk, EH Smith, Equitone and VELUX
Credits
Contractor Elmwood Projects
Structural engineer Buro Happold
Environmental / M&E Engineer Buro Happold
Quantity surveyor / cost consultant Arcadis
Acoustic engineer Max Fordham
Lighting consultant Max Fordham
Access consultant Mima Group
Graphics Lucienne Roberts+
Fire consultant OFR
Project management Faithful+Gould
Principal designer Faithful+Gould
Approved building inspector York City Council
Shop and café designer Lumsden Design
Artists Steve Messam, Pippa Hale
Exhibit contractors Huettinger, Unusual Projects Amazing Interactives, Stand and Stare
Planning consultant O’Neill Associates
AV Fusion