Leeds City Council has appointed architects Austin-Smith:Lord to design the new Leeds City Museum and Resource Centre.

The museum will be created through the refurbishment of the Leeds Institute – a Grade II listed, city centre building designed in the 1860’s – and supported by a new Museum Resource Centre at the city’s Clarence Dock.

Approximately 5,000sq m of floor space on four levels will be provided in the museum, with a variety of gallery and exhibition spaces focused around the Institute’s galleried, central hall.

The ground floor will contain a new foyer, reception, shop and gallery spaces, whilst the first and second floors will accommodate the main display areas.

The basement undercroft to the main hall will also provide gallery space, along with education and conference facilities and a new restaurant.

The two-storey Resource Centre at Clarence Dock will be used to accommodate the museum’s reserve collections and will have data links with other museum sites and external organisations. Pre-arranged visits to view the collections will be available.

Funding for the scheme will be made up of a Stage1£19.5m Heritage Lottery Fund grant and £6.5m from Leeds City Council.

Austin-Smith:Lord has been associated with museum projects both at home and abroad, having worked on Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry, the National Museum of Photography in Bradford, Thailand’s National Science Museum near Bangkok and the Museum of Coastal Defence in Hong Kong.