6a wins Bath fashion museum contest

The London-based firm will create a new venue for Fashion Museum Bath inside a former post office fronting New Bond Street in the centre of the historic city.

The project, planned to complete in 2030, will transform the Grade II-listed complex into a new 2,500m² venue for the museum, which holds more than 100,000 items of historic and contemporary fashionable dress within its collection. Some additional residential and retail units may also be delivered on the site.

Sophie McKinlay, project lead for Fashion Museum Bath, said: ‘6a has an exceptional creative vision matched with an outstanding track record for reimagining historic cultural spaces. I have no doubt 6a will be the perfect partners to deliver something very special for the Fashion Museum.

‘We’re excited to work together on our vision to create spaces which inspire our visitors, celebrate our extraordinary collection of historic dress, and welcome the community to engage with the transformative power of fashion.’

6a architects co-founder Tom Emerson said: ‘We are delighted to be selected to design the Fashion Museum Bath. Fashion, re-use, museums, and galleries have been central to our practice, and we look forward to bringing these threads together in this ambitious project.

‘The Fashion Museum’s collection, just like the architecture of Bath, is an incredible source of inspiration and we are excited to work with the museum team to bring it to the broadest of audiences.’

The search for a design team started in January – five years after Bath and North East Somerset Council announced a new £12 million architectural services framework.

The latest project will create a new home for Fashion Museum Bath featuring galleries, a community space, events area, a family space, learning studio, a café, back of house area and toilets.

6a won a publicly tendered contract for a major upgrade of the Crewe Heritage Centre railway museum in January.