Southampton City Council in the UK has appointed architects to design its new £15m Sea City Museum attraction.

London-based architects Wilkinson Eyre won the contract to design the attraction, which will be located in the council’s Civic Centre, previously occupied by Southampton’s magistrate courts and police headquarters.

The museum is intended to provide access to and interpretation of the city’s maritime heritage, and will include an exhibition on the Titanic, offering visitors a chance to adopt the identity of a crew member from the moment of boarding to the post-disaster inquiry.

As well as Wilkinson Eyre’s appointment, Urban Salon has been selected as the museum’s designers to develop “educational, original and fun ways to communicate the historical stories within the museum”. Focus Consultants has been appointed as project manager.

John Hannides, cabinet member for leisure, culture and heritage at the city council, said: “We are very pleased to have such a good quality project team working with us on this landmark project.

“This is one of the most significant civic projects in the city for 50 years and we are confident that they will develop a fantastic attraction that will help to tell the story of Southampton’s maritime history in an educational, exciting and innovative manner.”

The museum is being funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the council itself.