Plans have been unveiled for Scotland’s first-ever fully digital museum today.
The Scottish Historic Buildings Trust (SHBT) has released plans and concept pictures for the regeneration of the historic Leith Custom House in Edinburgh which is aiming to be a ‘town square for the 21st century’.
Video walls, listening booths, screens, and projectors will all be used to display the digital content in the museum, with the building showcasing the plans to the public from today until Friday 6 September.
Under the proposals, the Category A listed Georgian building would be transformed into a fully accessible destination in the heart of Leith that celebrates sustainable culture and the local area’s heritage.
Director of SHBT, Dr Samuel Gallacher, and Architect Richard Murphy unveiled the plans on Thursday night at an evening reception, as part of the city of Edinburgh’s 900th anniversary celebrations.
Dr Gallacher said the concepts for the new museum are ‘world leading’ and hopes they will be supported by the wider public.
He said: “Leith Custom House has an important role to play in preserving Leith’s proud civic traditions and is the largest project ever to be undertaken by Scottish Historic Buildings Trust in our forty-year history.
“We have worked with the community to develop the vision for the future of the building and are delighted to share our next steps for the project publicly through a programme of events aimed at widening participation.
“The digital museum fuses the principles of a civic museum with the innovation of a contemporary digital art gallery.
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“This concept promises a world-leading approach to providing a venue suitable for telling the stories of long ago, empowering people to tell their own stories today, as well as showcasing Leith and Scotland’s outstanding digital creative sector.”
When finally opened, the ground floor of the new museum at Leith Custom House will become community-creative studios. They will be available for working artists and makers, along with events and conference space available for hire.
Bosses behind the regeneration say that commercial and retail opportunities will ensure a sustainable future for the building, with Custom Lane opened up as an eating and drinking destination, linking the Shore with Dock Place and Victoria Quay.
Eight dedicated exhibition rooms on the first floor will house the digital museum. From historic documents and 3D object scans to photography, oral history archives, film, animation, and digital contemporary art – there will be a limitless range of exhibitions co-curated by community groups, guest curators, specialists, and even members of the public.
Leith Custom House dates back to the early 19th century when it was finally completed in 1812. The building retained its original use until 1980 when it became a store for the National Museum of Scotland.
City of Edinburgh Council appointed SHBT in 2015 to carry out a feasibility study exploring options for creating a sustainable future for Leith Custom House, which had been closed to the public since 1980, gradually falling into disrepair.
Since then, the charity has been working with the community of Leith to develop a shared vision that will secure the long-term future of the building within the heart of the community. During that time, SHBT has used Custom House as a creative hub, providing a temporary home for a wide range of artisans and artists to work collaboratively, as well as providing spaces for community use and a venue for the popular Leith Market.
The newly released proposals build on the preferred option from the feasibility study, which was informed by a formal community consultation exercise that called for spaces for classes, events, and activities, cultural spaces, rentable work studios, and space for permanent and changing exhibitions linked to the history of Leith.
The Gallery of Leit Custom House is open between Tuesday and Saturday from today until September 6. The public is now being encouraged to visit and view the proposals for the building and speak to SHBT members for more information.
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