Royal Museum of Scotland, NMS: Photos, Masterplan, Opening Times

Edinburgh Museum: Chambers St, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Museum of Scotland: image from GHA

Architect: gareth hoskins architects
Museum of Scotland

Opening Times:
Mon to Sat 10am - 5pm
Tue 10am - 8pm
Sun 12noon - 5pm
Admission Price: Admission Free

Address: Chambers Street, Edinburgh

Contact: 0131 247 4422

Museum of Scotland: updated image from GHA Sep 2005

Gareth Hoskins Architects - Building PR 3 Nov 2005

Royal Museum of Scotland: Masterplan
Gareth Hoskins Architect’s to lead The Royal Museum’s Transformation into 2011

Gareth Hoskins Architect’s has been appointed to lead a multi-disciplinary team to re-develop the Royal Museum, Scotland’s National Museum, for the National Museums of Scotland. The team will include structural engineers David Narro Associates and building services engineers Max Fordham.


Museum of Scotland: updated image from GHA Nov 2005

Proposals for the £44.5 million project in Edinburgh, involve a series of major architectural works including a more accessible ‘street level’ entrance, new circulation routes to encourage visitors to discover more of the museum’s collections, new learning zones for adults and children as well as new restaurants, shopping and cloakroom facilities. The ‘opening-up’ of the major exhibition spaces will double the number of objects on display, and allow the museum to host larger international exhibitions.

In November 2004 Gareth Hoskins Architects were announced as part of the team to create the Masterplan for the Royal Museum, which provided a 15 year design plan for the building. The practice worked closely with New York-based exhibition designers Ralph Appelbaum Associates throughout the Masterplan development.

Scotland’s largest Heritage Lottery Fund award was earmarked in July 2005 for the re-working of the National Museums of Scotland’s project, Royal Museum. £16.865 million stage one Heritage Lottery Funding (HLF), has been pledged for the Grade A listed building.

Dr Gordon Rintoul, Director of the National Museums of Scotland, said: ‘Gareth Hoskins Architects’ proposals showed creativity and innovation, matched by a keen understanding of the richness of the architectural heritage of the building. We look forward to working with Gareth and his team to realise our ambitious plans for this much-loved building.’

The new team will now prepare the stage two submission to the Heritage Lottery Fund, which is a detailed application to secure the £16.865 million grant already set aside for the project. With funding in place, building work is planned to begin in 2007, and is scheduled for completion in 2011.

Gareth Hoskins Architects are one of the leading architecture and design practices in the UK. The practice's innovative and people focused designs have resulted in a wide range of prominent projects both throughout the UK and abroad. The imaginative and responsive buildings, environments and designs that result from the practice's approach have been widely recognised through major press coverage and a string of national exhibitions and awards, including the award as the Best Young Architectural Practice in the UK.

Most recently, Gareth Hoskins Architects featured in the AJ Corus 40 under 40, an exhibition showcasing work by 40 of the UK’s leading architects with a principal under the age of 40, which was shown at the V & A Museum and in The Royal Museum to coincide with the Stirling Prize Award.

The full cost of the project is £44.5 million. The National Museums of Scotland is engaged in a fundraising campaign to raise the remaining funds to complete this ambitious and important project.

The National Museums of Scotland care for many of Scotland's museum collections of national and international importance, and present these to the public at several museums. The National Museums of Scotland consists of: Royal Museum, Museum of Flight, Museum of Scotland, Museum of Scottish Country Life, Shambellie House Museum of Costume and National War Museum of Scotland.
Gareth Hoskins Architects - Masterplan PR Nov 2005

Main entry - Chambers Street facade:

Museum of Scotland photo © Adrian Welch

Junction of new and old facades on Chambers Street:

Museum of Scotland photo © Adrian Welch

Royal Museum Masterplan
PR Nov 2004

National Museums of Scotland Launches Masterplan to Transform Royal Museum


Royal Museum Masterplan: New Entry Level image from Gareth Hoskins Architects

Today, the Director of the National Museums of Scotland (NMS), Dr Gordon Rintoul, revealed an exciting 15 year vision to refurbish and revitalise the Royal Museum on Chambers Street, Edinburgh. A well-loved Scottish landmark, the Royal Museum is a firm favourite with generations of Scots, but is in need of extensive renewal.

The Royal Museum Masterplan lays out a groundbreaking vision for a twenty-first century museum experience, a place where the cultures of Scotland and the world meet.

Museum of Scotland - Masterplan: East Wing image from Gareth Hoskins Architects (no larger image)

The Royal Museum shows the world to Scotland - housing under one roof international collections of science, technology, natural history, world cultures, art and design.

The adjacent Museum of Scotland shows Scotland to the world – telling the story of Scotland, its land, its people and their achievements. Both museums show material from the Scottish National collections that has been collected, invented and created by pioneering Scottish explorers, engineers, soldiers, missionaries, scientists, craftspeople and artists.

The Masterplan enables NMS to develop the relationship between the two museums, and to enhance the site as a whole. The reinvented Museum will build on the success of the award-winning Museum of Scotland and integrate the story of Scotland with a worldwide journey, embracing global perspectives – a journey made possible by the imagination and curiosity of our ancestors.


Museum of Scotland Masterplan: Entry to Chambers St - image from Gareth Hoskins Architects

The Masterplan will guide a programme of renewal and redevelopment which allows NMS to display 100% more objects than are currently on display. It proposes new exhibitions and displays; providing up-to-date learning experiences and visitor facilities; developing new routes into and around the building and creating a new home for major travelling exhibitions. It will attract local, national and international audiences, and it will restore and revitalise one of Scotland’s iconic Victorian buildings.


Royal Museum Masterplan: interior image from Gareth Hoskins Architects

Dr Gordon Rintoul commented,
“Significant work is now needed to bring the Museum of Scotland up to twenty-first century standards; both to care properly for our national collections and to provide the facilities and experience expected by today’s and tomorrow’s visitors. Potential exhibition space is currently given over to storage, displays have become dated, and the building has poor access throughout.”

The Museum of Scotland Masterplan was developed by a multi-disciplinary team, following extensive consultation with visitors, stakeholders and heritage bodies, including award-winning Scottish practice Gareth Hoskins Architects and the world renowned exhibition designers Ralph Appelbaum Associates.

Dr Rintoul continued,
“The Royal Museum Masterplan presents an exciting vision for a world-class museums service of the future. With the support of our partners and stakeholders I know we can create one of the great international museum complexes here in Scotland – a true window on the world.”

The new plans provide a framework for incremental development that would allow the basement to be opened up to accommodate high quality social spaces, eating, shopping and cloakroom facilities. Additionally, new street level entrances to the front of the Museum of Scotland will provide welcoming and user-friendly access with a section of Chambers Street being pedestrianised to improve safety. Visible lifts and stairs added to the main hall will draw visitors up to previously seldom accessed galleries on the upper floors.

Work has already commenced setting the foundation for the new vision, with essential building improvements beginning in the east wing. The cost of the Masterplan will be £70 million and grants from charitable trusts have enabled us to start developing an interactive science and technology gallery in the west wing.

Museum of Scotland - Building PR 18 Nov 2004
Lead Architects: Gareth Hoskins of Gareth Hoskins Architects and Ralph Appelbaum of Ralph Appelbaum Associates


National Museum of Scotland (NMS)

Royal Museum of Scotland - 1861,
Captain Francis Fowke
Chambers Street, Edinburgh


Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh © Adrian Welch

The National Museum of Scotland entry faces onto Chambers St. The NMS has been restored by Law & Dunbar-Nasmith - now LDN Architects - for the last twenty years. It contains a wonderful long and galleried triple-height space.


Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh © Adrian Welch

Gareth Hoskins Architects announced Aug 2003 as winners of competition to refurbish the NMS with Interior practice from New York.




Museum of Scotland - Gareth Hoskins

Museum of Scotland photo © Adrian Welch (no larger image)

Gareth Hoskins Architects, of Glasgow, and the design consultancy Ralph Applebaum Associates will develop a scheme for the museum on Chambers Street, which is operated by the National Museums of Scotland (NMS).
Jul 03

Royal Museum of Scotland : Photos

Another project by Ralph Appelbaum Associates is the Museum of Zoology Cambridge - Cambridge Architecture

Buildings / Projects by Gareth Hoskins Architects:
Culloden Visitor Centre
Royal Museum of Scotland
V&A Gallery London

Royal Observatory Edinburgh




Edinburgh : back to index

Royal College of Surgeons
Royal High School

Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge

Also by Royal Museum of Scotland architect, Captain Francis Fowke - Royal Albert Hall, London - 1871