NATIONALWATERFRONT MUSEUM PROJECTPROJECTAMGUEDDFA GENEDLAETHOL Y GLANNAU

AGREED PROJECT OBJECTIVESMarch 1999CCSCreation of a City and Waterfront destinationRegeneration uniting the City and the WaterfrontImpact on the visitor economy to the City and regionLeisure Centre Renaissance

NMGWNew synoptic Waterfront Museum to National Museum standardsEarly implementation of a realisable projectRevenue stream(s) to support operationSustainable development

Heritage Lottery Fund 2 stage process Stage 1 submission June 2000 Stage 1 approval July 2001 Stage 2 submission April 2002 Stage 2 approval July 2002WDAWTBEU Objective 1Welsh Assembly GovernmentGRANT BIDDING PROCESSMarch 1999 to July 2002

CAPITAL PLAN 33.5mFundersHeritage Lottery Fund11,124,500NMGW (sale of WIMM funds)4,500,000City and County of Swansea3,774,421EU Objective 13,716,237WDA2,500,000WTB1,600,000Private Fundraising740,571Welsh Assembly Government5,724,023TOTAL33,679,752

PROJECT OVERVIEWTo develop a new, innovative, sustainable museum of national status and international appeal, telling the story of 'Wales - The First Industrial Nation' to the present and for the future.

PROJECT OBJECTIVESA new, innovative, non-charging, sustainable museum of national and international status, telling the story of Wales the First Industrial Nation to the present and for the future, through the stories and experiences of the people in responding to the issues they faced, and illustrated by relevant objects and interpretative media

A partnership between the National Museums & Galleries of Wales and the City and County of Swansea

A museum of broad appeal and relevance, attracting in excess of 200,000 visitors per annum

Providing the opportunity for life-long learning and development to a wide sector of the community

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

Linking the physical assets of the industrial revolution (the collections) with the records of the era (the archives) with the written interpretation of the events, activities, changes and artefacts (the libraries) with todays changes, and providing pointers for tomorrow

Raising the standard of living for the people of Wales by serving as match funding for EU Objective 1 priority programmes and financial measures and acting as an appealing attraction to tourists more generally, linking with other tourist attractions in south and west Wales

Acting as a catalyst to a broader waterfront destination in Swansea, attracting in excess of 700,000 visitors per annum, which itself serves to regenerate the Swansea Maritime Quarter and adjacent dockland and city centre areas, creating a significant number of new jobs.

THE SITE

Wilkinson Eyre ArchitectsLand Design StudioArupsDavis Langdon & EverestMcCann & PartnersDESIGN TEAMappointed end 2000

Building Brief DevelopmentGallery space (sq m)Specific environmental controlsFlexible spacesLink Waterfront to the CitySpace for retail activitiesLevel 4 on scale of 1-5Place in Destination thinkingIndigenous materials

Masterplanning 2001

Architectural scheme

Non-traditionalPeople-oriented storylinesFree admissionModular not linearState of the art deliveryThe StreetRetail unitsWelcoming

WHAT KIND OF MUSEUM?

The story of the impact of industrialisation on the people of WalesThe 1851 CensusReflecting the economic and social changes in industrial WalesTelling the story through to the present day

CONTENT DEVELOPMENT

LandNetworksSeaMoneyTransformation 15 themes including

Networks

Metals

Landscape

Sea

Site works began January 2003

Interpretation styles and Access

Post-opening83,000 visitors by March 2006 Positive visitor feedbackCommercial units letShortlisted for the Gulbenkian PrizeNominated for an RIBA awardBeing widely reviewed by other museums, UK and overseas

January 9th 2005byNational Waterfront Museum Swansea: Visitor Survey

Stage 1 Findings: October November 2005

Age Profiles %- % of visitors - 2003 April October Survey

Enjoyment of Visit to Museum %- By demographics - Source: Visitor Interviews (413)

Agreement with statements about museum: TechnologySource: Visitor Interviews (413)Rating How much do you agree or disagree that .. - %

Overall Opinions of the MuseumSource: Qualitative Depth Interviews (20)Majority very impressed Its a lovely building and a really good museum Im very impressedFantastic a great day out the kids havent been bored yet so thats always goodMain reactions were:Like the interactive displays / stations all around museumIts a clever use of interactive technology Ive seen anything like it before, and Ive been to a few museums, its so much more sophisticated! Interesting & educationalIts very fascinating, Ive found out a lot of things [about Swansea] today that I never knew and Ive lived here all my lifeIts a good representation of our industrial historyModern & good use of spaceIts a very modern museum but everything seems to fit in Minority felt rather disappointed Too modern, preferred old Maritime museumIts too new, theres not that old feeling a museum should have. The contrast between the old content and the new building doesnt workI really liked the old museum, this doesnt seem to be a good change

Overall Opinions of the Museum (Continued)Source: Qualitative Depth Interviews (20)Too bitty Theres no flow from one section to the next its all a bit randomIts a bit difficult to know what the museum is about, there doesnt seem to be a definite subject matterConfusing map / leaflet I dont think Im particularly stupid but I found that very confusingThere are so many arrows on it [map] I didnt know where I was!

Summary / The Way Forward?Large majority found it enjoyable and were impressed by the museumSeen as very educational and very excitingStaff are also viewed very favourablyTechnology / interactive displays impressed visitors and seen as positive by mostSmall minority technology / modernity was a turn off (more likely to be older visitors)