The following presentation provides information on three possible sites for a new building proposed

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(No Transcript)
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The following presentation provides information
on three possible sites for a new building
proposed for a Highland Gallery and Museum.
Castle Street, Midmills and Northern Meeting Park
are locations short listed after a wider review
of possible sites. No particular site is
favoured at present each has different
characteristics, benefits and challenges.The
Highland Gallery Museum Steering Group and The
Highland Council wish to gather the opinions of
the public before Councillors are asked to
consider the options in 2008. YOUR
PARTICIPATION IS IMPORTANT
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Format of this presentation

• Background
• The history behind the project
• The partners involved
• What we aim to create and progress so far
• Site analysis
• An architects overview of each location
• The opportunities and constraints for each site
• Images of how the required size of building will
  fit on each site (not artist impressions of the
  design)
• What happens next

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A long held ambition

• There has been an ambition to create a major new
  gallery in the Highlands for over a decade
• Initial study prepared in 1994
• From 1994/98 Gallery 2000 - Millennium
  Commission bid for the 30m re-development of
  Bridge House.
• Failed in favour of the UHI Millennium Institute
  bid
• 1999/2000 Torvean Quarry wider aim of gallery,
  artist studios, archive centre, sculpture park
• Failed due to high infrastructure costs and
  complexities of the site

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A new cultural climate

• City status has renewed confidence in the
  city-region
• We have a growing population and economy
• Inward investment success
• An open-arms approach to attracting people
• However, newcomers and visitors expect better
  cultural facilities than currently on offer
• Highland 2007 the year Scotland Celebrates
  Highland Culture the opportunity to create a
  lasting legacy
• We need to compete with other cities and should
  have the cultural facilities worthy of one of the
  fastest growing European cities

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Fit with Inverness City Vision

• A cultural place
• A cosmopolitan place
• A creative place
• Cultural capital
• Learning city
• Highland 2007 legacy

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Activity to date

• Partner Scoping Report prepared March 2005
• Benchmarking of other galleries to assess scale
• Adopted as a City Vision project June 2005 (and
  decision taken to aim for integrated gallery and
  museum)
• Gallery Museum Visioning Workshop September
  2005
• Brief feasibility of Bridge Street site option
  February 2006
• 5m included in The Highland Council 5 year
  Capital Plan
• Developer ambitions for Upper Bridge St. change
  in 2007
• The search for an alternative site gets underway
• The project cannot move forward until a site is
  identified

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Those involved

• The Highland Gallery and Museum Steering
  Group is chaired by Professor Duncan Macmillan,
  former Dean of Art at Edinburgh University and
  curator of the Talbot Rice Gallery
• The project partners are

• The Highland Council
• Inverness City Partnership
• HIE Inverness East Highland
• National Galleries of Scotland
• Scottish Arts Council
• HIArts
• UHI Millennium Institute
• Eden Court Theatre Cinema
• Inverness Architects Association

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The Vision
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Project aims

• To provide access within the Highlands to the
  highest quality of art, artefacts and specimens
  from national and regional Scottish collections
• To provide a focus for the very best work by
  Highland artists, or by artists about the
  Highlands
• To be of international significance, and be able
  to host temporary exhibitions of a contemporary
  or historical nature
• To provide a hub for exhibition making,
  education, conservation and other services for
  the existing gallery and museum network in the
  Highlands Islands

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The Search for a Site

• In July 2007, The Highland Council commissioned a
  preliminary evaluation of 14 possible sites
  within the city

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The Search for a Site

• The majority were ruled out as they could not
  meet the project brief or because the site is
  unlikely to be available in the foreseeable
  future
• (The full list and reason for exclusion is in the
  leaflet and webpages)

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The Search for a Site

• The criteria for selection included a site that
  can provide
• good access
• good visibility and
• quality spaces.
• The scale required is 4,095m2 nearly 3 times
  the size of Inverness Museum and Art Gallery
  (IMAG)

• Castle Street
• Midmills Buildings
• Northern Meeting Park
• Selected for further analysis

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Site analysis

• This analysis was commissioned in October
  2007 to ensure that a gallery and museum
  development is feasible on each site before
  suggesting these to the public and Councillors.
• The architects research concludes that all
  three sites could support the required building.
  There is no favoured site all have pros and
  cons and the following analysis attempts to
  present this in a neutral and unbiased fashion.
• The public are being invited to give their
  views in a completely open survey, and the
  ultimate decisions will rest with The Highland
  Council, Elected Members.

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Castle Street

This illustration indicates the scale of the
building it is not intended to represent the
final architectural design
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Castle Street - Overview
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Castle Street Opportunities

• Prominent site in the city centre
• Close to the present site of Inverness Museum and
  Art Gallery (IMAG)
• Opportunity to restore damage to historic
  townscape
• Potential for reinvigorating the historic spaces
  within the Town House in the longer term
• Potential to link at the higher level with the
  Castle esplanade

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Castle Street Constraints

• Ground conditions/retaining bank to esplanade may
  pose technical difficulties
• High likelihood of encountering archaeology
• Possible difficulties of access for commercial
  vehicles
• Sloping site a challenge to designers (also an
  opportunity)
• Expansion restricted
• Loss of car parking

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This illustration indicates the scale of the
building it is not intended to represent the
final architectural design
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Midmills Buildings

This illustration indicates the scale of the
building it is not intended to represent the
final architectural design
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Midmills - Overview
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Midmills Opportunities

• The core of the complex is a historic building of
  distinction with fine interior spaces that appear
  well suited to the brief
• Attractive site set within a predominantly
  residential area, generous in size
• Close to the city centre
• Potential for new gallery pavilion to rear of
  building
• Good range of external spaces for sculptural and
  café courts
• Good onsite space for service access
• Potential to develop innovative cultural spaces

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Midmills Constraints

• Set on a plateau above the city centre, which may
  impact upon accessibility
• Would require better pedestrian access
• Will not become available until Inverness College
  relocates
• Possible problems of access for commercial
  vehicles
• Unknown risk with existing building condition
• Possible structural restrictions to physical
  adaptations
• Costs associated with adapting and redeveloping
  interior finishes in historic buildings
• The site acquisition cost may be considerable

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This illustration indicates the scale of the
building it is not intended to represent the
final architectural design
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Northern Meeting Park Options

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Northern Meeting Park Options

These illustrations indicate the scale of the
building they are not intended to represent the
final architectural design
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Northern Meeting Park - Overview
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NMP Opportunities

• The site area is generous suggesting alternative
  options for development
• Co-location with Eden Court resurrecting the idea
  of a Cultural Quarter
• Relative proximity to the city centre
• Enhancement of the setting of surrounding
  A-listed buildings
• Good visual connection to riverside and high
  quality public spaces
• Would stimulate urban vision for west side of
  river
• Green space has limited public access

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NMP Constraints

• Potential for public opposition to the loss of
  open space from building on the Northern Meeting
  Park
• Retaining setting of the pavilion and wall (to be
  B-listed)
• Displacement of car parking for current uses
• Possible localised flooding risk
• Possible legal issues with Cathedral Car Park
• Green space has limited public access

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This illustration indicates the scale of the
building it is not intended to represent the
final architectural design
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This illustration indicates the scale of the
building it is not intended to represent the
final architectural design
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Public engagement

• The public are being asked for their views on the
  suitability of each site
• The public engagement period will run from
  Wednesday 14 November 2007 until Friday 11
  January 2008
• Displays can be viewed at Inverness Museum and
  Art Gallery and the Eastgate Centre during this
  period
• Leaflets and survey forms are available, at the
  display stands, for completion and return at the
  stand or at Town House Reception
• Alternatively an online survey can be completed
  by visiting
• www.citypartnership.org.uk

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What happens next?

• Public responses will be collated and analysed by
  an independent consultant
• These will be included in a report to the
  Inverness City Committee, then the Education,
  Culture and Sport Committee in the New Year
• The Highland Councils 5 year capital plan makes
  provision for a contribution of 5million
  towards the provision of an iconic new Highland
  Gallery and Museum, the cost of which is
  currently estimated to be around 15million
• Before full development studies can start, and
  funding applications can be prepared, we need to
  define a site

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The Partners Endorsement
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Prof. Duncan Macmillan

• The creation of a major gallery for the
  Highlands has been a long held ambition for me as
  for many of those involved in the project. The
  visual arts matter in the modern world and the
  people of the Highlands deserve to have access to
  the very best art just as much as anybody else in
  Scotland.
• The new gallery will bring the best art
  here, but it needs to be important nationally as
  well as locally. The Highlands deserve that too
  and they deserve a modern building which, like
  the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao for instance, is
  so exciting people want to come and see it. The
  three sites which are the options here have been
  chosen because they can all accommodate a
  building that can fulfil these ambitions.

Chairman of the Highland Gallery and Museum
Steering Group
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Those involved
Provost Bob Wynd

• The city of Inverness is now, more than ever,
  competing at an international level and as such
  should have all the modern cultural facilities
  expected. We ought to be able to showcase the
  best quality art and heritage collections in a
  landmark building that sets the standard for
  future development in our city region.

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Those involved
Amanda Catto

• The Scottish Arts Council is committed to
  developing audiences for the visual arts across
  Scotland. The proposed Highland Gallery presents
  a good opportunity to engage existing and new
  audiences with the best historical and
  contemporary work, and has the potential to be a
  nationally and internationally significant
  development.

Head of Visual Arts Scottish Arts Council
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Those involved
James Gibbs

• A strong and vibrant cultural offering is a
  vital component in any successful city and for
  attracting and retaining the necessary human
  talent that will drive our economy forward. The
  people of the Highlands and Islands and visitors
  here should be able to enjoy the full range of
  cultural facilities that the 21st century can
  offer. HIE IEH welcomes the opportunity for the
  public to participate in the selection of a
  prominent site, wherever it may eventually be in
  the city, for what we hope will be an outstanding
  project to complement the impressive
  re-development of Eden Court Theatre and Cinema.

Area Director, Highlands Islands Enterprise
Inverness East Highland
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Those involved
James Holloway

• The National Galleries of Scotland are
  wholeheartedly behind the project to create an
  art gallery in Inverness worthy of the Highlands.
  The National Galleries are already committed to
  sharing some of the greatest art treasures of the
  country with the people of the Highlands. In
  2005 Titians Venus Rising was the centrepiece of
  a highly successful, small exhibition shown in
  Inverness. Currently Botticellis supreme
  Madonna and Child forms the centrepiece of
  Maternity which is part of the National
  Galleries contribution to Highland 2007. If the
  Highlands are successful in creating a new
  gallery, then the National Galleries and Highland
  Council can look forward to many more ambitious
  and exciting projects.

Partnership Director, National Galleries of
Scotland
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Those involved
Cllr Bill Fernie

• "A new gallery and museum for the Highlands is
  of great importance to the development of the
  full range of cultural facilities the local
  community and our visitors deserve for the 21st
  Century. As such it merits a significant
  building in a prominent location. I warmly
  encourage the public to participate in this
  process by giving Highland Council feedback on
  which site is most appropriate."

Chairman of The Highland Councils Education,
Culture Sport Committee
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Those involved
Your feedback

• Your participation is important so please
  complete the online survey or return the survey
  form available from Inverness Museum Art
  Gallery, Eastgate Centre or Town House Reception
  before Friday 11 January 2008

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The Vision