Holburne Museum extension revised designs receive planning consent Nov 2007
Resubmitted Sep 2007 with more contextual colours and slight height reduction:
Holburne Museum gets the go ahead A landmark decision in Bath last night saw Eric Parry Architects’ extension to the Holburne Museum of Art receive planning consent.
The scheme, which will secure the future of this important museum, was resubmitted in September following a surprise initial refusal. In response to some of the concerns expressed the practice made some amendments to the design, with an overall reduction in height of around a metre, a reduction in the size of the reflecting pool in the surrounding gardens and a change in the colour of the ceramic. A new window overlooking the garden has also been introduced.
Eric Parry, Principal of Eric Parry Architects commented: “We are all absolutely thrilled that consent has been won, this is a major achievement for both the practice and the Holburne Museum. It hasn’t been an easy process but last night’s decision marks a key turning point in the history of the Museum.”
Alexander Sturgis, Director of the Holburne Museum said: “This is a wonderful decision for the future of the Holburne Museum. Our current building, in its extraordinary site, is one of our great assets but it is in desperate need of repair and too small for all we need and wish to do. Eric Parry’s beautiful extension will provide more space for every aspect of our activity from exhibitions to education but the project will also allow us to restore the existing building and help the Holburne fulfil its exceptional potential. We are thrilled that the committee’s decision will enable us to continue to work towards this goal”.
David Posnett, Chairman of the Trustees added: “We have been working to secure the future of the Holburne Museum for the last seven years and the restoration and expansion of the Museum are essential for its survival. We now have the plans in place, with a jewel-like extension designed by one of the country’s best architects, which will allow the museum to thrive.“
The three-storey extension will provide an extra 800 square metres of gallery space to house the collection which has grown by some 2,000 exhibits since the Museum opened in 1916. It will transform the visitor’s experience with improved facilities, a lift which will (for the first time) allow the Museum to be fully accessible to all, and a garden café opening onto the park. The project will reunite the historic Sydney gardens with the city by recreating the clear axis between Great Pulteney Street at one end and the gardens at the other.
Holburne Museum Bath : Building PR 2 May 07 from Eric Parry Architects:
A new vision for the Holburne Museum, Bath
Holburne Museum CGI : image by Smoothe from Eric Parry Architects
Eric Parry Architects has designed a new extension to the Holburne Museum of Art in Bath. The design makes bold use of ceramic, mirroring the permanent collection of the Museum, much of which will be on display in the new gallery space created by the extension.
The extension is strikingly configured in ceramic and glass, complementing the
original Grade 1 Listed building and sympathetic to the museum’s collection of
paintings and decorative arts. The new development provides an extra 800 square metres of gallery space in addition to a garden café, educational and other visitor facilities.
The project will reunite the historic Sydney gardens with the city by recreating the
clear axis between Great Pultney Street at one end and the gardens at the other.
EPA has an enviable track record working with historic buildings: they are currently working on the redevelopment of St-Martin-in-the-fields in Trafalgar Square, London and the practice has recently completed a new extension to Old Wardour House, Wiltshire.
Holburne Museum Bath : Eric Parry Architects
The Holburne Museum of Art, Bath
The Holburne houses an extraordinarily rich collection of fine and decorative art, including nationally important collections of Renaissance bronzes and maiolica, of silver and porcelain and of paintings and miniatures. The Holburne has at its heart the personal collection of Sir William Holburne which was bequeathed as a kernel of Bath’s first public museum in 1883. In every area he acquired works of exceptional significance and beauty such as Susini’s refined bronze of a Kneeling Woman Bathing, or the Diana and Actaeon plate, a rare and early example of maiolica. His silver collection is remarkable and his group of 17th century Dutch and Netherlandish painting, including two significant works by Pieter Breughel the Younger, and a fine
group of Dutch Italianate landscapes are still the most important in the west of England. Since Sir William’s death the collection has grown by some 2,000 objects which have enlarged the scope of the collection and given it a renowned strength in British Painting, with works by Raeburn, Ramsay, Stubbs, Turner and Gainsborough. Housed in the eighteenth-century Sydney Hotel and set within the park of Sydney Gardens, it is Bath's most beautiful museum.
For further information on the Holburne Museum of Art, please contact:
Holburne Museum, Great Pulteney Street, Bath BA2 4DB
T: +44 (0) 1225 466669 · email: holburne@bath.ac.uk
Holburne Museum, Bath : Building PR 020507 from Eric Parry Architects
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