Criticisms of the plans for the new Museum of Liverpool on the city's pierhead have thrown the city into a fresh controversy and could jeopardise the museum's future.
Disgruntled groups and individuals have instigated a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) mission to visit the World Heritage Site to give the museum development its approval.
National Museums Liverpool's (NML) new £65m museum, which will replace the now-closed Museum of Liverpool Life, has been criticised for its lack of aesthetic value and for being incongruous with the existing Edwardian buildings, the Three Graces, on the waterfront.
The UK branch of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos), the international body that offers advice to Unesco on World Heritage, wrote to Liverpool City Council during the consultation process to voice its concerns about the proposal. In the letter, Susan Denyer, the secretary of Icomos-UK, said: 'In our view, to seek to erect a fourth building of such architectural pretension on the pierhead shows a fundamental misreading of the precious nature of the existing group [of buildings].'
David Fleming, director of the NML, described Icomos-UK's five-page letter as 'vicious'. Rex Makin, a Liverpool solicitor and regular donor to National Museums Liverpool up until two years ago, said: 'It's an ugly piece of architecture. It's distasteful.' He believes the area should remain empty. 'Nothing will ever fit with the three buildings there,' he said.
With regard to Merseyside's Maritime World Heritage Site, which includes the pierhead, Unesco states the 'character of any new construction should respect the qualities of the historic area, and a new construction at the pierhead should not dominate, but complement'.
Denyer's letter said: 'We do not consider that the spirit of these recommendations have been taken into account.' Fleming said: 'We have done everything we should have. To my knowledge, Unesco has made no commentary on the building.' He added: 'We are confident that when they come and look, then they will conclude that this is a wonderful building.'
Fleming said all appropriate bodies were consulted with strong endorsement from English Heritage and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment. Mechtild Rossler, the head of World Heritage at Unesco, said there had been complaints, but it is the threat to the site that concerns Unesco. She said it was unimportant how many complaints had been received. A Unesco delegation, along with Icomos, will visit the site later this year and then make recommendations to Liverpool.
'We look forward to entering into dialogue with Unesco, but there has been no dialogue or contact with them yet,' said Fleming. NML has so far raised £40m for the museum, aided by monies from the North West Development Agency and the European Regional Development Fund. Fleming said: 'We start digging soon. We have £40m. We are not going to send it back.'
A second Heritage Lottery Fund application has been submitted following the failure of the first bid, earlier this year.
Felicity Heywood
Disgruntled groups and individuals have instigated a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) mission to visit the World Heritage Site to give the museum development its approval.
National Museums Liverpool's (NML) new £65m museum, which will replace the now-closed Museum of Liverpool Life, has been criticised for its lack of aesthetic value and for being incongruous with the existing Edwardian buildings, the Three Graces, on the waterfront.
The UK branch of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos), the international body that offers advice to Unesco on World Heritage, wrote to Liverpool City Council during the consultation process to voice its concerns about the proposal. In the letter, Susan Denyer, the secretary of Icomos-UK, said: 'In our view, to seek to erect a fourth building of such architectural pretension on the pierhead shows a fundamental misreading of the precious nature of the existing group [of buildings].'
David Fleming, director of the NML, described Icomos-UK's five-page letter as 'vicious'. Rex Makin, a Liverpool solicitor and regular donor to National Museums Liverpool up until two years ago, said: 'It's an ugly piece of architecture. It's distasteful.' He believes the area should remain empty. 'Nothing will ever fit with the three buildings there,' he said.
With regard to Merseyside's Maritime World Heritage Site, which includes the pierhead, Unesco states the 'character of any new construction should respect the qualities of the historic area, and a new construction at the pierhead should not dominate, but complement'.
Denyer's letter said: 'We do not consider that the spirit of these recommendations have been taken into account.' Fleming said: 'We have done everything we should have. To my knowledge, Unesco has made no commentary on the building.' He added: 'We are confident that when they come and look, then they will conclude that this is a wonderful building.'
Fleming said all appropriate bodies were consulted with strong endorsement from English Heritage and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment. Mechtild Rossler, the head of World Heritage at Unesco, said there had been complaints, but it is the threat to the site that concerns Unesco. She said it was unimportant how many complaints had been received. A Unesco delegation, along with Icomos, will visit the site later this year and then make recommendations to Liverpool.
'We look forward to entering into dialogue with Unesco, but there has been no dialogue or contact with them yet,' said Fleming. NML has so far raised £40m for the museum, aided by monies from the North West Development Agency and the European Regional Development Fund. Fleming said: 'We start digging soon. We have £40m. We are not going to send it back.'
A second Heritage Lottery Fund application has been submitted following the failure of the first bid, earlier this year.
Felicity Heywood
