A MUSEUM set to become one of Oxford’s leading visitor attractions now has a team of architects on board to help it take shape.

The Story Museum in Pembroke House is due to be built by 2014 – the year Oxford is also bidding to become Unesco World Book Capital.

More than 60 architect firms submitted bids to take on the £3.5m project, but it was this week awarded to Purcell Miller Tritton.

Project leader Niall Phillips said: “We are delighted to be part of this unique and prestigious project, particularly as we understand that the other submissions were all of such high quality.

“The brief captured our imagination and we are incredibly excited to be working closely with The Story Museum.”

Purcell Miller Tritton was responsible for designing the visitor buildings at Cardiff Castle and Sheffield’s Weston Park Museum.

The Story Museum is set to transform three disused buildings around a triangular courtyard on the 2,000sqm site in Pembroke Street, just off St Aldate’s.

It is hoped the museum could become a “new world centre of children’s literature and storytelling in the heart of Oxford”.

Story Museum capital project director Tish Francis said: “This is a unique and unusual project. We were impressed with the range and quality of practices coming forward and it was a very tight call between those making the final cut.”

The final stage of the bidding process involved interviews, creative workshops and a presentation to trustees and stakeholders.

Chief executive Kim Pickin added: “The team are practical and supremely conscious of our need to forge inventive and creative solutions within tight financial parameters.

“In the final session we were particularly struck by their performance in the creative workshop.”

The museum received an anonymous donation in 2009 to buy the 130-year leasehold for the buildings, at a cost of £2.2m.

Engineers and surveyors have also now been appointed for the project, while the museum fundraises for the next stage.

Approximately £11m is needed to plan, refurbish and fully open the museum by 2014. A website has also been launched as part of Oxford’s bid to become the World Book Capital.

See oxfordworldbookcapital.org