Uncertainty over new £68m museum likely to be settled by planners
Apr 8 2008
by David Bartlett, Liverpool Daily Post
UNCERTAINTY over Liverpool’s new £68m museum on the city’s historic waterfront looks likely to be settled today when councillors are asked to approve a new facade for the building.
The Museum of Liverpool is now on its second set of architects and the building is due before the city’s planning committee today because of a change in the marble cladding from Travertine to Jura.
Council planners have recommended that the switch in material be approved.
The change in material has angered heritage campaigners who last night said the new material is not good enough and that they always said Travertine was unsuitable anyway.
The change in cladding material followed National Museums Liverpool (NML) sacking Danish architects 3XN, who were replaced with Manchester-based practice AEW in November.
The saga over the new museum also lead long-term patron and city solicitor Rex Makin, who has given the organisation hundreds of thousands of pounds, to des-cribe the situation as a “crisis”.
Despite the cladding issue work has continued on the Mann Island site and is on track to be built by the end of the year with an open-ing date in 2010 or 2011.
Approval was given for the museum in December 2005 and according to NML a sample panel of Travertine marble has remained on the site since.
A council report says NML “became concerned about the suitability of the material, because it has shown extensive signs of weathering and discolouration.”
The Travertine had attracted dirt, the surface had stained from water run off, and algae had begun to form with some of the fissures.
NML said that Jura limestone, by virtue of its dense structure and low porosity, is less susceptible to weathering and more resistant to graffiti.
“Its closed face makes it difficult to permanently attach paint and also makes it easier to clean,” states the report.
“By contrast, the nature of the Travertine makes it absorbent to paint and difficult to clean. The Jura is smooth and will not harbour algae or dirt.
“The Planning Manager is satisfied Jura limestone is a high quality, durable material which is a fitting material for the new Liverpool Museum and the important historic context within which it is to be located.”
Wayne Colquhoun, of the Liverpool Preservation Trust, said he had warned of the vulnerability of Travertine when the original planning permission was granted.
“This whole affair has turned into a farce. Changing from Travertine to Jura is like giving a sore thumb a bruise.”
He said Jura was the type of material used for the Metquarter shopping centre, but was not appropriate for a world heritage site.
Source: Liverpool Daily Post
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