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Higgins Gardner & Partners

International Exhibition and Museum Design Consultants

File:BANK-STOCK OFFICE SIDE VIEW.jpg

Restored Bank Stock Office, Bank of England Museum

Higgins Gardner & Partners is an architecture practice specializing in museum/exhibition design and works to historic buildings. Its first major commission, the Bank of England Museum in London, includes new display galleries and an accurate reconstruction of the Bank Stock Office, designed by Sir John Soane in 1793 and demolished in the 1930's. The museum was awarded the 1988 City heritage Award and Stone Federation Award for Outstanding Craftsmanship.

This commission led to further projects in the financial sector, including currency museums within the headquarters of the Central Bank of Oman and the Central Bank of Bahrain (formerly the Bahrain Monetary Agency). Both museums contain important numismatic collections from the Islamic world as well as comprehensive issues of national currency.

In 2000 the practice was appointed to design a major museum within the National Bank of Dubai. Natural gulf pearls (Pinctada radiata) form the focus of the display; bequeathed by the Bank's founder, Sultan Ali Al-Owais, it is reputed to be the largest collection of its type in the world. Supporting displays describe the hazardous process of pearl diving and the means by which pearls were traditionally traded. The themes of the museum serve to remind visitors of the hardships and rewards of the pearl industry which formed the principal source of income for the Gulf States before the discovery of oil.

Cultural Facilities Within Historic Buildings

In tandem with its international work Higgins Gardner & Partners has undertaken numerous projects involving the adaptation or reorganization of historic buildings as cultural facilities. A particularly interesting example is the Tarbat Discovery Centre in Portmahomack, Scotland: housed within a Grade A listed medieval church, the Centre illustrates Dark Age life and provides interpretative support for the adjacent excavations of a major Pictish settlement. It is unique in the Highlands through its use of modern, high quality materials and state-of-the-art audio-visual installations within an historic ecclesiastical environment. Opened by H.H. the Prince of Wales, the Centre was one of seven UK projects (together with the London Eye and Millennium Dome) short-listed for the 2000 Silver Unicorn Award sponsored by the Travel Writers’ Guild, and received a high commendation in the 2000 British Archaeological Awards.

More recently the practice completed a permanent exhibition within Shaw House, a 16th century Grade I listed manor near Newbury, Berkshire, now owned by West Berkshire County Council. The exhibition, which charts the history of the house and its various owners, is unusual in being both permanent and fully 'reversible', i.e. capable of being installed and removed without any damage to the existing interior. The same principles are being applied to the practice's current exhibition design for Eastbury Manor in Barking, a Grade II* listed merchant's house also dating from the mid-16th century.

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Sectional View, Mary Rose Museum

Higgins Gardner & Partners' established reputation in this field extends to masterplanning and funding documentation. Examples include a £17.5 million development plan for the Horniman Museum, London, focusing on the reorganization and expansion of its grade II* listed buildings; a detailed feasibility study for a new community museum within Bootle's grade II listed town hall, commissioned by Sefton Borough Council for its 2020 Sefton Plan; and a successful Heritage Lottery Fund bid for the redevelopment of Valence House Museum in Barking, East London.

In 2004 Higgins Gardner & Partners advised on strategic issues related to the creation of a new museum for the Mary Rose, Henry VIII's flagship that was recovered from Portsmouth sound in the 1980's. The following year the practice was invited to participate in an international competition for the new £20 million building, being one of four finalists selected from a field of 40 architectural firms.