The £50m development is part of a general regeneration on the banks of the River Clyde. Courtesy Glasgow City Council.
The much-acclaimed architect Zaha Hadid has been chosen to design Glasgow's new £50 million Riverside Museum.
A larger and improved replacement for the Transport Museum, currently located at Kelvin Hall, the new museum is to be built on a site where the River Clyde meets Glasgow's other main river, the Kelvin.
Zaha Hadid was selected by Glasgow City Council's Working Group on the Regeneration of the River Clyde.
"This is an important milestone in our proposals to turn a very popular Transport Museum into an even more popular Transport Museum in an iconic building down by the Clyde," explained Cllr Charlie Gordon, leader of the City Council.
Glasgow's existing transport collections will be moved to the new building. Courtesy Glasgow City Council.
"It is also another part of the jigsaw in terms of the multi-billion pound regeneration of the river."
The museum is seen as a key part of the council's plans for the continued regeneration of the River Clyde and will be next door to Glasgow Harbour, a private-sector led 120-acre development.
In total, 44 architects and designers expressed an interest in working on the project and after technical and financial assessments, Zaha Hadid was chosen.
As well as working on a number of high profile projects, Hadid has been involved in the design of such museums as the Rosenthal Centre for Contemporary Arts in Cincinnati and the National Centre for Contemporary Arts in Rome.
The new museum is set to occupy the symbolic spot where the River Clyde meets the River Kelvin. Courtesy Glasgow City Council.
While Zaha Hadid will design the building, Event Communications, the group behind Imperial War Museum North in Manchester and Our Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh, will create the exhibition spaces.
"This was quite clearly a project that captured the imagination of many renowned architects and designers, and in Zaha Hadid and Event Communications we have got firms from the top drawer," added Cllr Gordon.
"I am sure that working in partnership with the City Council, they will create something world-class."
The landmark project will provide a more accessible and environmentally stable home for Glasgow’s transport and technology collections.
The Transport Museum is currently located at Kelvin Hall. Courtesy Glasgow City Council.
From famous Scottish-built cars and locomotives to Glasgow’s Spitfire, the collections are among the country’s most significant.
The new museum will also allow the proper interpretation of Glasgow’s important maritime history, including the Glenlee tall ship and its unique ship model collection, for the first time.
Predominantly council-funded, bids are set to be made to a number of agencies, including the Heritage Lottery Fund, for external support.
The next step is to invite construction companies to bid for the job of actually building it, with a view for work to start by 2007. It is hoped the new museum will open in 2009.
