All things new!

New Gallery extension at the Holbourne Museum

A new year, a new me? With the kids finally back at school I thought it was high time I got some fresh air and walked of a few Christmas calories. So with the aim of a fitter body and a new focused attitude to work I thought I'd stroll along Great Pultney Street, staying as far away from the temptations of the January sales, and sneak a peak at the new gallery extension at the Holbourne Museum before it re-opens on the 14th May.

I'm not totally against the idea of combining the new with the old, after all isn't that what I do every year when I recycle my new year resolutions, however in the heritage industry this should be done with as much sensitivity as possible. In my humble opinion I feel that this has not been achieved with the Holbourne.

My first impression was building site, well not surprising really as technically that is what it is. I was not impressed with what I saw, the new building looks garish, quite like a badly constructed office block and does not fit with the beautiful surroundings of Sydney Gardens. What really lets the whole building down is the glass. I think the building could have looked fantastic if they had used glass that did not resemble dirty windows.

Oh well perhaps I should have stuck to old habits today and done a little shopping maybe waiting till May for my little excursion when the whole project will be completed.

New Gallery extension at the Holbourne Museum

It will be interesting to see what others including you think of the new gallery extension.