GOING DUTCH FOR CITY HALL Council put forward Netherlands’ firm to re-design Perth site
The firm tasked with turning Perth City Hall into the keystone of the region’s cultural ambitious has been recommended.
Perth and Kinross Council yesterday revealed Dutch firm Mecanoo has been chosen to turn the vacant King Edward Street landmark into a visual arts attraction - subject to approval by the council.
A final decision on the move will be formally rubberstamped at a full meeting of the local authority on Wednesday next week.
Should Netherlands-based Mecanoo be given the green light, architects will begin developing their designs for a building which has lain empty since 2005 – with work expected to begin in 2019.
Mecanoo’s £11.4m design was the closest of the five designs to the budget of £11m set by Perth and Kinross Council. The other four designs, by Austin-Smith:Lord and MVRDV, Hoskins Architects, LDN Architects and Richard Murphy Architects, respectively, were all significantly over budget, priced between £14.5m and £16.9m.
The local authority, which has already approved planning permission to transform the building into a cultural attraction, has committed £20m to the transformation of the City Hall and Perth Museum and Art Gallery.
It has set aside a further £2.8m to improve the area
around the City Hall, which is to come from £14m earmarked for improving public spaces and lighting.
A further £10m needed for the project is still to be accounted for, and a number of applications for funding have been drawn up – including to the Tay Cities Deal and Heritage Lottery funding.
Cllr Ian Campell, the leader of Perth and Kinross Council, said: “We are very happy we have got to the stage where we can make a recommendation to chose a winning architect.
“Councillors will have to decide next week to approve the recommendation, and then we can move ahead with it.
“As it happened this was the design I preferred when I first saw the shortlisted designs three months ago. It has also performed very well in terms of the public.”
A panel of experts was chosen to assess the five shortlisted designs, including senior officers from Perth and Kinross Council, an independent advisor from the Royal Incorporation of Architects Scotland (RIAS), representatives from Culture Perth and Kinross, and construction and civil engineering experts who are working on this project.
The would-be creations were assessed on how well they addressed the design brief set before them to create a leading cultural attraction that showcases the theme of ‘Ancient Roots, Modern Scots’.
Other factors including how well it met visitors’ needs, its cost, and how well it fitted in with the surrounding area were also taken into account.
Pete Wishart, MP for Perth and North Perthshire said: “I am pleased to see that the City Hall project has reached its next stage.
“For most people, regardless of whether or not this was their favourite design, I am sure they will just be glad to see the project continue to move forward.
“This project will be really important for Perth and it is vital that everyone gets behind the plans in order to make them a success.
“I would encourage councillors to keep this project on track and to support the recommendations next week.”
The council hopes the City Hall will become a major new arts venue in Scotland, and hopes to display exhibitions both from Perth Museum and Art Gallery and on-loan from other museums and galleries across the country.
The venue will also eventually be home to touring exhibitions from across the UK and abroad.
Mecanoo’s design aso includes community and learning spaces.
The final design will still need to go through the planning process, with listed building consent also required to be obtained before work can officially go ahead.
Work is expected to begin in 2019 and should take around two years to complete. The Touch of Tartan walk