Monday, 25th October 2021

Last week saw the opening of the new Spanish Gallery museum in County Durham. Trident Manor is proud to have been involved in the design through to the delivery of this fantastic museum.

In 2016 Andy Davis, Managing Director of Trident Manor was asked to undertake a peer review of the security designs of a museum project that was going to proceed in the Market Place of Bishop Auckland, called the ‘Spanish Gallery’.

The initial review identified that there was an overreliance on technical security measures and that the lack of physical measures meant vulnerabilities were being created. As a result of the findings, Trident Manor identified significant capital savings and balanced solutions that would assist the end operational users in the delivery of their services.

The trust was so impressed that Trident Manor was appointed to the principal design team as the specialist security advisor on this (and multiple other) project.

Working with architects, structural engineers, project managers, government officials, and the client’s in-house teams balanced, and proportionate security designs were integrated to ensure that governmental and operational requirements were met. As the buildings had listed status this required some innovative thinking to take place where open and honest discussions with planning departments resulted in agreements that satisfied all parties.

It was important to remain flexible as changes in the design, layout, and use caused rethinks and at times redesigns to ensure the protective layers maintained their integrity.

Andy commented, “It is great when a design team is brought together and works collaboratively to produce what I believe is a beautiful space dedicated to art and cultural heritage.” He continued, “This project demonstrates the benefits of bringing in professional security support at the start of the project, instead of it being a retrospective afterthought, something that will have saved the client hundreds of thousands of pounds.”

Trident Manor would like to congratulate The Auckland Project on delivering this magnificent Gallery and for placing its trust in Trident Manor.

Trident Manor is proud to be associated with this museum project and has advised on over a dozen museum designs across the UK and internationally. Our Cultural Protection Services are recognised more and more as the go-to organisation for the protection of cultural heritage sites, venues, and operations. If you would like to find out more about how we can help you protect your cultural heritage please contact the time - enquiries@tridentmanor.com.