Southland Museum and Art Gallery Trust Board chairman
Darren Ludlow in the car park where the downsized extension
will be built. Photo by Allison Rudd.
Plans to extend the Southland Museum and Art Gallery have
been ''retrenched'' to trim costs.
The planned extension would be halved in size and more focus
placed on the interior than the building itself, museum trust
board chairman Darren Ludlow said.
''We decided we did not need to be at the hero end [of museum
design] and said `let's retrench a bit','' he said at a
presentation to Southland District councillors on Wednesday.
The trust originally proposed a $24.6 million redevelopment,
including a complete refurbishment of the distinctive pyramid
building constructed in 1990, which leaks and contains
flammable insulation which must be removed.
However, it was asked to revise its plans by local
authorities which have committed to contributing towards the
cost.
The revised project was expected to cost about $20 million,
Mr Ludlow, who is also Invercargill's deputy mayor, said.
Most of the money was still required for recladding and
interior reconfiguration.
There have been suggestions that the pyramid be demolished or
that the museum move from the edge of Queens Park to a
central Invercargill location.
The trust had discounted both suggestions, Mr Ludlow said
after the presentation.
''Moving was never on the board, and the pyramid is a
Southland icon which should stay. It is a nice point of
difference for us.''
About $600,000 had been spent on designs and specifications
for the original proposal and it was ''frustrating'' some of
that money had been wasted.
However, he said, much of the work could be transferred
across to the new plan.
It was hoped the redevelopment would be started next year and
finished by 2015 or 2016, he said.
- allison.rudd@alliedpress.co.nz
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