‘No crisis’ at £68m museum

Jan 23 2008 by David Bartlett, Liverpool Daily Post

LAST week, a key patron of National Museums Liverpool described the organisation as in “crisis” over a new showcase Museum.

But, despite hiccups behind the scenes, the project is progressing full-steam ahead.

The £68m Museum of Liverpool is now on its second set of architects and the building is due before the city’s planning committee again because of a change in the marble cladding from Travertine to Jura.

Last night, National Museums Liverpool (NML) director David Fleming, after a site visit, told the Daily Post it was on track to open in 2010/11 and would be one of the best urban museums in the world.

“We are expecting the building to look completed by late 2008; there will still be a lot of work to do inside, but it will look complete,” he said.

The total cost of the museum will be about £68m, with just under £50m going on the building and the rest being spent in the fitting out of the venue.

“The new museum will be fabulous. It will be one of Europe’s finest museums, and arguably one of the finest urban museums in the world.

“Liverpool has got a fascinating story, a rollercoaster story.

“It is one of the world’s greatest adventures, not just the 800 years since it got its charter, but looking at what the area was like before humans lived here.”

In the 17th century, Liverpool was a small fishing port and within the space of a few generations became the richest port in the British Empire.

But when Britain lost its industrial dominance and its empire Liverpool went into decline, but is now resurgent said Dr Fleming.

“This museum is all about that story.”

The city’s link with the exotic will also be celebrated in a “wonderful fascinating story”, he added.

“It will appeal to all ages. It is important that a museum like this has an appeal to small children, but it is equally important we deal with the subject intelligently.

Some critics have argued there is no need for a Museum of Liverpool, but Dr Fleming fundamentally disagrees.

“People should make no mistake, there’s a thirst for information about Liverpool history, and this is the place where people will be able to go and find that.

“At the moment, there is nowhere you can go for that. What this city needs is a wonderful museum that tells Liverpool’s story.

“We want to give Liverpudlians a great museum.”

Last year, it emerged the marble cladding of the museum was to be changed from Travertine to Jura, after Danish architects 3XN were sacked.

It has been suggested, not least by 3XN, that the change of cladding was down to cost.

“I can absolutely refute that. These are two types of limestone, they are the same cost and both are high quality.”

He said that, when Travertine was tested at the Pier Head, it failed to “successfully respond” to the elements.

“The reason we wanted to switch to Jura was because it was a denser grade, Jura has fewer holes and depressions in it.”

The change means a planning application is now needed to vary the conditions on the current consent.

Dr Fleming says he is hopeful the planning committee will see there was no “diminution in quality” from changing the stone.

The issue came to a head last week when long-standing patron and famous city lawyer Rex Makin described the situation as a “crisis”.

“There’s no crisis, there’s no row. We are going back to the planning committee to seek a variation.”

davidbartlett@dailypost.co.uk