International architects recommended to reinvigorate Perth City Hall as £20m cultural hub

A firm of international architects has been recommended as the preferred bidder to reinvigorate Perth City Hall as a £20m cultural hub.

Dutch firm Mecanoo has been selected from among five shortlisted architects by officials at Perth & Kinross Council and their report will go before councillors on August 16.

Plans for the building are part of wider improvements to the surrounding area which the council hopes will be transformed into a vibrant markets and events space.

Mecanoo is behind other major cultural projects including Birmingham City Library, the HOME arts venue in Manchester, and the New York Public Library.

According to PKC, “it has a strong track record in reinvigorating historic buildings for the 21st century sympathetically and working collaboratively with local communities to develop its designs”.

The international design competition for the City Hall attracted global interest and over 70 initial expressions of interest, resulting in five shortlisted designs.

They were evaluated in detail by a panel with professional expertise in architecture, building construction, finance, museums and public realm, a process carried out in partnership with the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS).

The five design concepts were judged on how well they ‘met the needs of visitors and delivered the requirements of a world class museum, affordability within the £20M budget, and sensitivity towards the wider historic area surrounding City Hall’.

A public engagement exercise received over 800 comments from local communities and cultural organisations, local businesses and others.

Public support was in favour of Austin-Smith: Lord/ MVRDV and Mecanoo, with Mecanoo receiving the greatest number of positive responses from local people and businesses.

Leader of the Council, Councillor Ian Campbell, said: “This has been a thorough, professional process. The final decision will be for Councillors to make next week, but I’d like to thank all members of the public, local businesses and cultural organisations who took the time to contribute their thoughts. What is clear is that there is a shared enthusiasm to see progress made with the City Hall and the level of public engagement throughout this process has been very pleasing to see.

“This is an important milestone in transforming Perth’s key landmarks, and along with our other major cultural projects, such as Perth Theatre and Perth Museum and Art Gallery, it’s another step on our journey to make Perth one of Europe’s great small cities.”

Depute Chief Executive Jim Valentine 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 City Hall into a vibrant, inclusive civic space of which we can be truly proud.”

Once an architect has been appointed, detailed designs will be drawn up. Planning and listed building consent are expected to be applied for in 2018, with work scheduled to start on site in 2019.