£ 5.4 MILLION EXTENSION £ 5.4m museum extension housing iconic WW2 plane celebrated
THOUSANDS of visitors have now visited the £ 5.4 million extension to the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent , which now houses an original Spitfire aircraft thanks to specialist project management from national property , construction , and infrastructure consultancy Pick Everard .
The project comprised the design and construction of a new 3,800 square foot , double height exhibition space with mezzanine and the alteration and refurbishment of the existing café space within the art gallery and museum , alongside extensive external landscaping .
Utilising a steel frame and rainscreen cladding , the new exhibition space has been designed with specialist structural glazing to allow the main attraction , the city ’ s iconic RW388 Spitfire Aircraft , to be exhibited . The area also houses a flight simulator , model Hurricane aircraft and other exhibitions .
Seeking an expedited project process to ensure scheduled delivery , Pick Everard – operating under Perfect Circle ’ s unique collaboration – was appointed as Stoke-on-Trent City Council ’ s multi-disciplinary construction consultant through SCAPE ’ s Built Environment Consultancy Services ( BECS ) framework .
Matt Jones , associate project manager at Pick Everard , said : “ Stoke-on-Trent City Council ’ s aspiration for a statement project that provides meeting and social space for the general public captured our imagination and we worked collaboratively with the wider project team to develop and deliver a scheme that achieves this . In the process we overcame several challenges presented by the sloping brownfield site , in addition to the adapted structure and services of the existing building that the new exhibition space needed to be adjoined to .
“ Since this scheme created an extension to an existing museum , the project demanded early engagement and smart collaboration with a variety of stakeholders . This included the city council ’ s cabinet members , planning officers , and museum curator , along with the special interest group responsible for restoring the Spitfire and the logistics company responsible for moving the refurbished plane into the completed exhibition space .
“ The project began on site as the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic took hold . This meant that stakeholders
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