The striking design for Swindon’s hope-for £22m town centre art gallery and museum was unveiled this morning as the body behind the project prepares to re-apply for nearly half the cost from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The iconic design by London-based Make Architects aims at creating a nationally important landmark building on the car park next to the Wyvern Theatre as the centrepiece of a new cultural quarter for the town.
The Swindon Museum and Art Gallery (SMAG) Trust said the idea was to create a building that would “become a significant source of pride and wellbeing for local residents and businesses, and attract visitors to Swindon from the wider region and beyond”.
Swindon’s renowned collection of 20th century British art – which includes works by Lucian Freud, Henry Moore, L S Lowry and Graham Sutherland – is acknowledged as one of the best in the UK outside of private hands. Yet the current museum and art gallery in Old Town has space to display just a 10th of the works at any one time.
A £12.5m bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) was rejected last year despite the HLF describing the collection as having ‘outstanding heritage importance’, and that there was a ‘strong case’ to improve its housing and display.
The SMAG Trust will now re-apply to the HLF for a £10m grant towards the project, which is now costed at £22m. It will use Make Architects’ design concepts as part of its bid. Swindon Borough Council has already pledged £5m towards the project.
The building is designed to be a cutting-edge venue with four flexible independent gallery spaces to showcase the British Art and studio ceramics collection, tell the story of Swindon, house an interactive science facility and also host visiting exhibitions.
It will also include learning centres, event spaces, cafe and dining areas and a viewing gallery.
SMAG Trust chair Robert Hiscox, who is also honorary president of insurance giant and Lloyds underwriter Hiscox, believes the new museum and gallery can be a catalyst for redevelopment of the wider town centre – and area he once described as ‘architecturally-challenged’.
He said the vision is to build the most-admired civic museum in the country.
“Swindon is a thriving town in beautiful countryside with easy access through rail and road for millions of people,” he said today.
“The council identified the need for a cultural quarter, and the new museum and art gallery will give it a heart and a centre for the local community. It will also benefit the town’s economy by making Swindon a destination for visitors and businesses. This is not a vanity project; it is a serious investment in the future prosperity of the town.”
Make Architects has worked on major projects across the world, including a 40-storey residential tower for the Tech City area of East London, a luxury boutique hotel in Chengdu, China and the Copper Box sports arena at London’s Olympic Village.
Practice founder Ken Shuttleworth lives in the showpiece Crescent House at Compton Bassett, near Calne, which he designed himself and was shortlisted in 2000 for the Stirling Prize – the most prestigious in UK architecture.
Before setting up Make in 2004 he worked with internationally-acclaimed architect Norman (now Lord) Foster, including on the iconic Hongkong and Shanghai Bank headquarters in Hong Kong.
He said: “Our team is extremely excited by the immense potential of the site. We believe the development of the space is a fantastic opportunity to create a beautiful cultural destination in the heart of Swindon that safeguards, enhances and celebrates the area’s collections, and creates new and engaging public realm that draws and excites visitors.
“We envisage a world-class building that will become an artefact in itself, an object that symbolises Swindon’s past, present and future.”
Swindon Council leader David Renard said a genuinely world-class museum and art gallery was one of the council’s pledges and formed an integral part of its plans to breathe new life into the town centre.
Cabinet member for the economy, regeneration and skills, Garry Perkins, added: “We know from other hugely ambitious cultural projects, such as the Turner Contemporary that has re-energised and regenerated Margate, that the economic benefits to the surrounding area are huge.
“This structure and all that goes in it will play a key part in securing the town’s future economic and cultural regeneration, and put us firmly on the map as a major destination for arts, heritage and science.”
The project has the backing of Influence, the town’s leading business organisation, and Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) along with many of Swindon’s businesses.
Nationwide strategy and propositions director Rob Angus said: “Initiatives such as this are vitally important to the regeneration of Swindon.
“As a major local employer we know it is important that the town continues to be an attractive place for people to live and work, not just for our 7,000-strong Swindon-based workforce but for our future employees too.”
Also working on the proposal are international engineering consultants Arup and Steensen Varming and cost consultancy Alinea.
