Price is right for winning proposal
At £11.4m Mecanoo’s design for Perth City Hall was the closest to the budget Perth and Kinross Council set.
The design brief had scope for £11m to transform the City Hall into a visual arts attraction.
Five designs were shortlisted from Mecanoo, AustinSmith:Lord and MVRDV, Hoskins Architects, LDN Architects and Richard Murphy Architects, with Mecanoo’s – the publc’s second favourite – being the least expensive.
The other four designs came in at a cost of between £14.5m and £16.9m.
Mecanoo’s vision is one of an understated approach, retaining the existing roofspace.
One of the major changes is replacing the existing solid doors with glazed alternatives.
A spokesperson said: “Mecanoo envisions the project as means to create a new gateway to Perth, to its history and its pride.
“The scheme proposal seeks to reactivate Perth City Hall by a number of light-touch interventions that open the building up to the public realm at ground level and provide a flexible platform to display Perth and Kinross Council’s permanent and temporary collections.
“The integral design is about transparency, permeability, accessibility and creating an interactive environment for all.”
Council leader Ian Campbell told the PA: “I am very pleased that Mecanoo scored very highly for architectural quality Launching the UK City of Culture 2021 bid and, of course, it came in almost on budget.
“It is important for the current Conservative administration to bring things in on budget plus it is a good classical, modern European design.
“It is not just the cheapest option. It was a popular option in terms of the design but also fitted the brief we set.
“We told the architects how much to spend on the design and we expect that to be on budget. Our new Conservative administration is very pleased we have got this moving and we are getting off the ground.”
Jim Valentine, the deputy chief executive of Perth Council, said: “All five shortlisted firms are of the highest calibre, which is testimony to the importance of the City Hall project not just to Perth and Kinross but Scotland’s wider cultural landscape.
“It was a very tough decision for the selection panel but Mecanoo stood out as having responded sensitively to the brief, conserving much of the historic building with an innovative and flexible design that will stand the test of time.
“The panel felt that Mecanoo paid particular attention to the needs of a wide range of visitors and the transformation of the area surrounding the City Hall into a vibrant, inclusive civic space of which we can be truly proud.”
In total, £10m-worth of funding for the overall cultural regeneration project is still to be secured.
Mr Valentine explained: “We still have to put forward the design as part of the Tay Cities Deal. We are also looking for Heritage Lottery Funding Perth City Hall allocation so we are still finalising things. “If this is not successful we will just have to revisit the programme but that is the same with any project.”
Cllr Campbell added: “We have every confidence the Tay Cities Deal will deliver.”
Perthshire North MSP John Swinney said: “‘I welcome the news that at long last we have a proposal that can advance the city hall project.
“Everyone in Perth and Kinross will be glad that there is progress and I look forward to seeing the plans develop.”