AL_A appointed to transform Paisley Museum

AL_A has been appointed by Renfrewshire Council to lead a transformative project to turn Paisley Museum into a world-class destination.

The project will see a contemporary addition to the current Victorian-era building, creating a new museum entrance, new museum spaces – including a cafe and shop – landscape and significantly improved access. Major improvements to all existing museum buildings including the Coats Observatory and a complete internal redesign will reimagine the visitor experience and double the number of objects on public display.

The museum will close in the autumn and re-open in 2022 as an expanded home for Paisley’s internationally-significant textile heritage and outstanding natural history, art and science collections.

On being appointed, Amanda said, “This is one of the most radical briefs I have read – it triggered in us a desire to tell the untold history of Paisley and search for a narrative thread that will drive the design. The project is bigger than the building itself and I am excited to re-imagine the relationship between the street and museum. This is not only about finding the way to best show the museum’s collection, it’s also about showing the world how an ambitious cultural project can have a profound impact on a community and its identity.”

AL_A were among more than 120 firms to tender for the Paisley Museum contract and will lead an Anglo-Scottish multi-disciplinary design team including conservation consultants, Giles Quarme and Associates, landscape architects GROSS.MAX. and engineers, Arup.

Images: Paisley Museum and AL_A