The £6.8M Dunfermline Museum and Art Gallery will be developed by BAM Construction.
Delivered through hub East Central Scotland the organisation set up to deliver local, community- based facilities, on behalf of Fife Council it will be the town’s first purpose-built museum and the first to tell the unique history of Scotland’s ancient capital.
Located on Abbot Street, the new museum and art gallery will link the existing world’s first Carnegie Library and an adjacent disused bank, both B-listed buildings and create a new purpose-built extension to the rear.
Doug Keillor, regional director of BAM Construction, said, “After the success of the award-winning Dunfermline High School project, we are delighted to be returning to Dunfermline as part of the team for the new museum and art gallery.
“This is a challenging construction project that, once finished, will provide a showpiece in the heart of the town.”
Councillor Helen Law, who chairs the City of Dunfermline area committee, said: “The main works will begin on site in the next few months and the new building will open to the public in 2016. It’s such an exciting prospect.
“We’re seeing how much Dunfermline people are looking forward to it, as already more than 140 people have volunteered to be part of it all.”
The three-storey building will feature extensive glazing combined with stone paving to create a building of interest, surrounded by extensive landscaping that will include an outdoor seating area for visitors.
A number of viewing galleries over Dunfermline’s Heritage Quarter, including an overhead outdoor walkway, capturing the best surrounding aspects, will provide an added feature for visitors.
The interior to span 3,7049 square feet will include a new cafe, office space and a new children’s library, plus two museum display floors to house the town’s collections and three galleries for mounting temporary arts, crafts and heritage exhibitions.