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Decline in major sports
The museum maximises the use of natural, minimally processed materials to achieve its sustainability agenda Burns Museum opens
The new Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, which celebrates the life of Scotland’s national bard, officially opens this month. Designed by Simpson & Brown
Architects, the £21m museum in Alloway, Ayrshire, is arranged around a 500sq m exhibition gallery displaying many of the museum’s 5,000 artefacts. The new building also includes a café opening onto the mature gardens inherited from an earlier exhibition building, a gift shop and an education room. The museum plays a central role in bringing together the different sites in
Alloway, including Burns Cottage, Burns Monument, Brig O’ Doon and the Auld Kirk, previously known as Burns National Heritage Park. Part of the National Trust for Scotland
portfolio, the building has been designed to be as green as financially possible. Simpson and Brown Architects was the lead consultant for the new museum, as well as for the repairs to the Birthplace Cottage, the repair and conversion of the 1906 museum into an education centre and also designed the reception and ticket building at the entrance to the cottage site.
Participation figures from Sport England paint a mixed picture of progress in grassroots sport, despite significant investment. Overall, the slow but steady increase in participation numbers seen over the past five years continues, with 6,938,000 people now taking part in sport at least three times a week. The Active People Survey results show that regular participation is now 123,000 closer to the government’s aim to get one million people playing more sport by 2012/13. Weekly participation in athletics, including running, has grown by over 263,000 over the past two years, and cycling’s numbers are up by almost 100,000. But five of the top seven participation sports, including the only sports with more than two million weekly participants - swimming and football, are in decline. Their size means that this decline has a major impact on the overall growth of grassroots sport. Jennie Price, chief executive of Sport England, said: “A number of major sports have yet to deliver, despite significant levels of investment. They now urgently need to demonstrate their ability to grow participation and prove they can make a significant contribution to sport at the grassroots level.”
Mega-library milestone
Construction of the £193m Library of Birmingham, designed by Dutch architects Mecanoo, has hit its first anniversary. Carillion is building the library, which is
situated on Centenary Square next to the Birmingham Repertory Theatre (REP). The library building will be joined to the REP at ground and mezzanine levels and will share the foyer, bars, restaurants and a new 300-seat studio theatre. A large entrance canopy will welcome
The library and theatre will share facilities to create a centre for knowledge, learning and culture
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visitors into the building which is characterised by circles; an amphitheatre below Centenary Square, the interior overlapping rotundas and on the outside the filigree circles, inspired by the city’s tradition of craftsmanship and industry.
Escalators and travelators will guide
visitors through the building giving a constantly changing view lit by natural light. The design also incorporates two outside terraces. The library aims to be a cultural centre
drawing visitors from all over the world. Designed to be highly accessible to all, it will act as a community hub, as a place for families, businesses, groups and individuals to learn, study and take part in activities. New technology will also enable the city’s photographic and archive collections to be viewed and shared much more widely. Construction is due to complete by mid 2013.
Images: National Trust for Scotland
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