Cheltenham Borough Council is inviting registered architects, or architect - led multidisciplinary design teams, to prepare proposals for the design of an extension to the existing Art Gallery and Museum.

As one of Cheltenham's key cultural facilities and public buildings, the current Art Gallery & Museum is compromised by difficult access to its main collections and by limited exhibition, storage and other spaces essential to the provision of a quality public art gallery and museum service.

The aim is to address these issues through the development of the semi - derelict site to the east of the Art Gallery & Museum. This will require the removal of some of the existing buildings, to provide adequate space for the new extension, and to establish an appropriate presence on the street - both in terms of scale and proportion.

The new facilities will enable the collections to be more accessible to the widest possible audiences, building on the Art Gallery & Museum's local, regional and national strengths, through providing larger, flexible temporary exhibition spaces, better public circulation and access within the galleries, improved storage conditions, greater public access to the study collections and more space for the many support services necessary for a modern museum.

Eligibility
The competition is open internationally to architects and architect-led multi-disciplinary design teams. It should be noted that the competition promoters will be looking to select a team with the experience, capacity and resources to deliver the project and competitors should bear this in mind from the outset.

No member or employee of the promoting body or the jury panel shall be eligible to compete or assist a competitor.

Jury
Jane Lillystone, Museum & Arts Manager, Cheltenham Borough Council
Richard Brearley, John Miller and Partners with Sidell Gibson, RIBA Adviser
Cllr. Diggory Seacome, Cabinet Member Arts & Culture, Cheltenham Borough Council
Wilf Tomaney, Urban Design Manager, Cheltenham Borough Council
Karen Radford, Heritage & Conservation Manager, Cheltenham Borough Council
Sophia Wilson, Art Gallery & Museum Staff Representative
Joanne Wallis, RIBA Competitions Officer will be in attendance as observer. 

Prize Money
An equal honorarium of 4.000 Euro will be paid to each stage 2 finalist. The winner’s honorarium represents an advance on their professional fee.

It is intended that, funding permitted, the winner of the competition will be appointed to work closely with the promoters to take the project through to completion.

Timetable
The competition timetable, which may be subject to variation, is as follows: Brief available: Friday 22 June 2007
Question deadline: Wednesday 8 August 2007
Replies to questions / clarifications: Friday 17 August 2007
Deadline for registration: Friday 24 August 2007
Stage 1 submission deadline: Wednesday 12 September 2007
Public consultation: 19 September to 12 October 2007
Assessment: w / c 15 October 2007
Invitation to stage 2: w / c 22 October 2007
Final Judging / interviews: w / c 10 December 2007