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Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Its existing Grade I listed building, completed in 1845, has been sensitively and imaginatively extended to provide 39 new galleries, an education centre, rooftop restaurant, conservation studios, study rooms and stores. A new display strategy – Crossing cultures, Crossing time – takes visitors on a journey of discovery which begins on the lower ground floor of the new building where themed galleries explore connections between objects and activities common to nearly every culture. The next three floors are arranged chronologically and provide fresh insights into the interaction of eastern and western cultures during ancient and modern times.
Four large temporary exhibition galleries will enable the Museum to present an ambitious exhibition programme, bringing major international travelling exhibitions to the region. The programme will be launched in September 2010 with The Pre-Raphaelites and Italy. Total project cost £61million. Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, The Linbury Trust and many other charitable trusts, foundations and individuals Design team: Rick Mather Architects; Metaphor Design, exhibition design. Some of your comments: Wonderful family-friendly museum. Gives children an insight into history in a positive manor. Children have history at their fingertips. Also a museum that is a pleasure to visit as it has a modern feel and has exhibitions from all over the world. The new building has brought light into the galleries - statues that would have been displayed in the sun originally can be appreciated bathed in light. It is a bold and timeless addition to one of the country’s best museums. The Ashmolean is an exemplary case of how classical, sterile or outmoded spaces can actually get transformed into functional education centres. The new building of the Ashmolean makes the walking through the galleries a kind of play for the visitor, while the alternation between closed (hidden) and open (permeable) spaces is suitable for both concentration/study and relaxation/communication. Contemporary architecture meets precious fragments of antiquity in an interesting dialogue. The scale of spaces takes very much into account the human figure and galleries communicate with each other geographically as well as thematically. A very instructive experience. The newly opened galleries at the Ashmolean Museum are truly stunning. They take the display of archaeological materials to a new level of excellence. The stunning new exhibition complex creates many more possibilities of space in which to appreciate the resident collection, which now beautifully offsets loan items. Many more pieces can be shown at once, and to better advantage. The creativity of the displays and redistribution of old, familiar items allows us to see the familiar in new and different ways. This is now altogether a beautiful experience for all comers as well as an extraordinary teaching museum. As the oldest museum in the country the Ashmolean is a key part of the national heritage, yet since its recent revamp it is also one of the most dynamic museums to visit in Great Britain. A very ambitious redevelopment of Britain's first and greatly treasured museum that lies in the heart of Oxford, which has created beautiful galleries and insightful displays, not only accessible in the new and impressive space of the museum, but also online with their brand new website Eastern Art Online. As a mainly long distance member, and a retiree, I find it just wonderful to have so much detailed and varied information at my fingertips. The museum itself is a fantastic place to visit, with the staff complementing everything with their helpfulness and consideration truly a treat. I will be visiting again in mid April of this year. It is relatively easy to house a new museum in a purpose built facility, but to take an established building in the centre of a city with no space to expand externally, and transform it into what appears to be a totally new museum is nothing short of miraculous. I have been there with friends and family ranging in age from 5-85 years old and they are all blown away by the excitement of the place. The use of "windows" in solid walls, creating sightlines to tempt you on to even more exciting exhibits, is truly inspirational. It is a brilliant juxtaposition of ancient & modern. It has revived the Ashmolean and brought a new spotlight on an already fascinating collection. I can't think of a negative thing to say about it! I often visited the Ashmolean during my working life in Oxford, and have visited many other museums in the world. It is indeed rare to find collections so accessible. The presentation of each object is considered as a part of the whole exhibition; one is led effortlessly through each 'room'/display. There is simply no comparison possible between the 'old' presentation and the new - children and adults alike, old hands and those new to Oxford, experience the buzz in this amazing place. The long wait while the museum was refurbished has been well rewarded. Indeed it deserves to win!
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The Ashmolean Museum has its origins in a seventeenth century cabinet of curiosities, and now represents one of the most significant museums of art and archaeology in Britain. Its collections are large, rich and unusually diverse. Spanning the civilisations of East and West, they chart the aspirations of mankind from the Neolithic era to the present day. 
Existing education programmes have been reinvigorated to make full use of the transformed displays, and new ones created to reach wider and more diverse audiences. 
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