Designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor, the Painted Hall is one of the most important Baroque interiors in European architecture. Sir James Thornhill painted the murals, including the one on the west wall that celebrates the arrival of King George I and the Hanoverians in Great Britain. Exposure to sunlight and humidity through the hall’s point of entry, however, damaged the paintings. Recently, Hugh Broughton teamed up with Martin Ashley Architects to move the entrance to the undercroft below. As the paintings were restored to their former glory, the subterranean entry chamber was fitted with a shop, café, and a glass doorway to the hall. Broughton also installed a heating system and solar shading to preserve the artworks. “Our key strategy with the Painted Hall was to make any work that we did as invisible as possible,” says the architect. “The star of the show is the paintings.”