Helensburgh Outdoor Museum shortlisted for International Design Award
Scotland’s first Outdoor Museum has been shortlisted in the prestigious, international FX Awards in the ‘museum and exhibition space’ category.
The Outdoor Museum is a key component of the recently completed Helensburgh Town Centre Public Realm project. The Museum was designed as a collaboration between Austin-Smith:Lord and artists WAVEparticle.
Located in Helensburgh’s civic heart, Colquhoun Square, the Outdoor Museum concept emerged in direct response to extensive community consultation undertaken as part of the town centre regeneration project. There was a clear public desire for a ‘town museum’ to celebrate the rich community and social history of Helensburgh.
Local dialogue, expertise and input was at the heart of the project. A series of lively, convivial community days enabled local people to gather together stories and artefacts about the town that are surprising and revealing; entertaining and stimulating, educational and informative.
Redefining traffic management bollards in the public realm design as Outdoor Museum ‘plinths’ showcases the artefacts and artworks and ensures the exhibits are accessible and integrated into the street scene. The project is particularly an opportunity to record the untold stories- gems of history and heritage.
WAVEparticle Lead Artist, Peter McCaughey, said: “We are delighted that Helensburgh’s Outdoor Museum has made the shortlist for such a notable award, despite stiff competition from around the globe. We imagined Scotland’s first Outdoor Museum as a place where local treasures could be permanently on display alongside objects of national significance and newly commissioned artworks, reflecting both the big history of the town and the smaller stories that make up our world. We envisaged this museum with a collection open to the elements, where the wind and rain and sun and touch of hand make their own contribution to the collection as it grows over the years.”
Graham Ross, Project Partner at Austin-Smith:Lord, said: “The Outdoor Museum is a beautifully simple way to reveal Helensburgh’s rich history and collective memory through the fusion of art, artefacts and public space. The Museum is located in Helensburgh’s principal civic square and captures some aspects of its celebrated and hidden history. The Museum has been curated in liaison with the local community and enriched by unique, site specific artwork. The Museum is extendable and it’s hoped that it grows incrementally over time to tell the unfolding story of Helensburgh.”
Further information is available at https://outdoor-museum.com
The shortlisted projects are available on the FW Awards website: https://www.designcurial.com/news/the-fx-shortlist-2015-4681472/2
The winner will be announced on the 25th November in London.
