The British Museum (BM) and Tate Modern are undertaking fundraising drives to complete extensions in time for the 2012 Olympics.
Planning permission has been granted for a £215m extension at Tate Modern, while the BM last month submitted a planning application for a £135m development. Tate Modern has raised £74m, of which £50m is from the government and £7m from the London Development Agency.
The Tate's 21,500 sq metre project will convert the former power station's underground oil tanks into "raw spaces" for art, while adding an extension at the back that will feature a brick lattice through which the building will glow by night.
Extra space is needed because the 35,000 sq metre gallery was designed to cater for two million visitors a year, but attracts five million.
The BM project, to the north-west of the current site, comprises five linked glass and stone pavilions offering 17,000 sq metres of extra space over seven levels, including three levels of underground storage.
The development includes a 1,000 sq metre temporary exhibition space, science and conservation laboratories and study collection storage.
The museum hopes to hit the 2012 deadline as it has planning permission to use the Reading Room as a temporary exhibition space only until then. It has secured £90m of the cost, including £22.5m from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Planning permission has been granted for a £215m extension at Tate Modern, while the BM last month submitted a planning application for a £135m development. Tate Modern has raised £74m, of which £50m is from the government and £7m from the London Development Agency.
The Tate's 21,500 sq metre project will convert the former power station's underground oil tanks into "raw spaces" for art, while adding an extension at the back that will feature a brick lattice through which the building will glow by night.
Extra space is needed because the 35,000 sq metre gallery was designed to cater for two million visitors a year, but attracts five million.
The BM project, to the north-west of the current site, comprises five linked glass and stone pavilions offering 17,000 sq metres of extra space over seven levels, including three levels of underground storage.
The development includes a 1,000 sq metre temporary exhibition space, science and conservation laboratories and study collection storage.
The museum hopes to hit the 2012 deadline as it has planning permission to use the Reading Room as a temporary exhibition space only until then. It has secured £90m of the cost, including £22.5m from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
