Exhibition on architects’ plans for new museum and gallery
Come to a public exhibition on the architects’ plans to transform St Albans into a museum and art gallery and give your views.
The exhibition will be held in the Town Hall during the Magna Carta celebrations, on Friday 12 June (2pm- 7pm) and Saturday 13 June (10am-3pm). Project team members and the architects will be on hand to answer questions about the plans and to discuss the vision for the new museum and gallery.
Visitors will see artists’ impressions of what the new museum and gallery will look like and be invited to give their views on the proposals via questionnaires.
The aim of the consultation is to gather feedback on the plans prior to the submission of a planning application later this summer.
The exhibition will remain on display at the Town Hall until the end of the Alban Weekend (20-21 June 2015).
You can see a preview at the Museum of St Albans in Hatfield Road until Friday 12 June when the exhibition moves to the Town Hall. It is mounted in the Activity Room. As the room is not always open to the public, please call the museum on 01727 819340 to check opening times before visiting.
The design for the new museum and gallery was unveiled in April by the architects, John McAslan and Partners. It includes the addition of glazed
link galleries to the first floor of the old Town Hall. These glass-covered walkways will enable visitors to walk round the building and see wonderful
views of the City.
There is also provision for a new temperature-controlled and secure basement gallery to be created under the building to house national touring exhibitions and contemporary art shows. The ground floor will accommodate a visitor information centre, exhibition space to showcase St Albans’
history, an education area and a café.
St Albans City and District Council is working with St Albans Museums and Galleries Trust and the University of Hertfordshire Galleries on the
project.
Cllr Beric Read, Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Localism for St Albans City and District Council, said: “The architects’ plans show
how this wonderful grade II* listed building can be turned into a fantastic new museum and art gallery. They maximise the potential of the old Town
Hall while keeping its beautiful façade. The building will provide a new home for the Museum of St Albans in the heart of the City and showcase
amazing art exhibitions organised by the university. It will also act as gateway to the many other visitor attractions in our City, including St Albans
Cathedral and Verulamium Museum.
“The public exhibition is just one way the community can influence the transformation of the old Town Hall.”
Focus groups have also been held with different groups in the District to capture people’s views. Groups that have consulted include the Guides and
Scouts, as well as St Albans Tiffin Club, for older Asian women.
In addition, visitors to the Hertfordshire County Show in May were given the opportunity to comment on the plans. Overall, a positive response was
received with many people saying that the Town Hall’s potential was being realised.
Community efforts are underway to raise money for the new museum and art gallery project. The St Albans Museums and Galleries Trust is leading
a public fundraising campaign called ‘renaissance: St Albans’ for the project. More information about the campaign is available on the website:
www.renaissancestalbans.org.uk. (External weblink no longer exists).
Councillor contact:
Cllr Beric Read, Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Localism for St Albans City and District Council
Mob tel: 07956 220264
Email: cllr.b.read@stalbans.gov.uk
Contact for the media:
Amanda Wilkinson,
Media and Internal Communications Officer
St Albans City and District Council
Tel: 01727 819317
E-mail: amanda.wilkinson@stalbans.gov.uk
www.stalbans.gov.uk
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StAlbansCouncil
Notes:
St Albans City and District Council’s museums service runs Verulamium Museum in St Michael’s Street and the Museum of St Albans at the St
Peter’s Street end of Hatfield Road. It also manages the medieval clock tower in the High Street, a field archaeology unit and associated
excavations. For more information, please visit the museums’ website at: www.stalbansmuseums.org.uk or call 01727 751810.
Images and artist's impressions (provided by John McAslan and Partners):
They include the entrance o the new museum and art gallery; the cells beneath the Town Hall which will be used as education space, and the
glazed linked galleries.