The David Livingstone Birthplace Museum is dedicated to the preservation of the legacy of David Livingstone, the famous explorer and missionary. It is located in Blantyre at Shuttle Row, a category A listed complex of buildings built in 1780’s for the workers of the Blantyre Mill and converted later in 1929 into the museum. David Livingstone was born and raised at Shuttle Row and spent his formative years working and being educated at the mill.
In 2015 Hoskins Architects was engaged by the David Livingstone Trust to lead a design team and develop proposals for the radical transformation of the Museum. Awarded Planning Permission in 2018 the proposals made a series of interventions to the existing complex, providing a new exhibition, improved visitor experience/facilities and modern archive object storage space for the collection.
As well as extensive and sensitive repair of the historic fabric of the buildings, interventions were carefully designed to improve accessibility and present Livingstone’s story in a relevant way to new audiences.