The Pier Arts Centre in Stromness, Orkney, will reopen on 7 July after a £4.5m renovation.

The revamp was designed by Edinburgh-based architects Reiach and Hall, and features a new building that will extend the existing gallery, which opened in 1979.

Neil Gillespie of Reiach and Hall, led the design team. “The project for the Pier Arts Centre is one of those ‘once-in-a-career’ buildings,” he said. “Our intention from the start of the project was to attempt to realise a building that grounded itself in the town, creating a form that while being somehow familiar, also expressed a contemporary ambition and confidence.”

Neil Firth, director of the centre, added: “From the outside, the building is strikingly modern, but it sits comfortably in the midst of Stromness’s unique street and seafront buildings that appear to have grown almost organically.

“The real magic is when you step inside, the art and the harbour environment combine and compliment each other to provide a charming effect.”

The project received funding from the Scottish Arts Council Lottery Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund, as well as from the European Union, the Orkney Islands Council and Historic Scotland.