Liverpool Slavery and Maritime museums get redevelopment nod

Multi-million-pound proposals to redevelop Liverpool’s International Slavery Museum have been given the green light by city planners.

Permission has been granted to create a new contemporary entrance pavilion for the museum on the Grade I listed Royal Albert Dock as well as the wider £58million redevelopment of the museum and the whole Maritime Museum building.

Both venues are expected to shut early next year for the redevelopment which is due to take around three years to complete.

National Museums Liverpool chiefs have worked in close collaboration with organisations including Historic England, Merseyside Civic Society and Liverpool City Council to develop the ambitious scheme which forms part of NML’s wider Waterfront Transformation Project.

The new International Slavery Museum entrance, designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, will run along the side of the current Martin Luther King Jr Building (the former Dock Office) which will become part of the expanded museum on the site.

It aims to offer a stronger sense of identity for the internationally significant venue which is currently entered by walking through the Maritime Museum.

An iron and glass bridge will connect the reimagined museum galleries in the Hartley Pavilion to the 19th Century dock building, offering panoramic views across the waterfront.

Meanwhile the Maritime Museum’s improved visitor welcome and orientation space will enable arriving visitors to appreciate the historic fabric and scale of the building. There will also be better circulation for visitors and enhanced shop, café and events spaces.

Ralph Appelbaum Associates, appointed in 2022, are leading on the exhibition design for both museums. 

Funding for the initiative includes £9.9m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Above: Architect images of the proposed entrance pavilion and link bridge. Courtesy of Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios. Top: The Martin Luther King Jr Building and Maritime Museum are part of the Grade I listed Royal Albert Dock. Photo by Ant Clausen.

The wider Waterfront Transformation Project, reanimating the area between the Royal Albert Dock and Mann Island, aims to link ‘storytelling, heritage, community and hospitality’ to create an improved visitor experience and to act as a catalyst for social and environmental improvements in the area.

NML director Laura Pye says: “This important milestone represents the hard work and dedication of all those involved in the redevelopment of both the International Slavery Museum and Maritime Museum.

“Throughout the process we have been guided by our community stakeholders and this bold and exciting approach is a testament to their energy, knowledge and experience, alongside the powerful collections and stories both museums hold.” 

And Kossy Nnachetta, partner and architect at Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, adds: “We’re excited about the designs, the engagement they encourage and the stories they tell. This project – like both museums within it - embodies a determination that our collective and shared history is expressed.

“It boldly addresses themes of restorative justice through space, which is fitting for the first museum in the world dedicated to the transatlantic slave trade. Liverpool, the UK and the world is ready for this.”