Gareth Hoskins Architects have recently been appointed to develop a masterplan for the redevelopment of National Museums Scotland’s Collection Centre at Granton, Edinburgh. The proposal will allow future development of the site without compromising connection between existing buildings and other national collections that share the wider site. A strategic review of existing storage will be carried out and proposals will accommodate additional objects that are to be moved onto site from the Port Edgar storage facility.

The project also includes the design and delivery of phase 1 of the masterplan: a new 4,000m2 archive storage building (BS 5454). The proposal will bring together the natural science collection currently housed in buildings across the site, encompassing a wide range of objects from butterflies to whale skeletons, requiring a wide range of environmental conditions. The overall aim for the project is to increase public access to the collection and provide specific areas for research and conservation.