The practice secured the commission following a publicly tendered contract involving an undisclosed shortlist of firms.

Located at Madelvic House, close to the listed former Granton gas tower and Edinburgh College’s campus, the 30,000sq/m National Collections Facility (NCF) will be built to Passivhaus standards to provide a low-energy home for more than 100,000 exhibits – including art, sculpture, photographs and publications.

The unused site, which was donated to NGS by the Scottish Government, includes the remains of the oldest purpose-built car factory in the UK, which has been previously been earmarked for demolition, but could now be saved.

A spokesperson for the National Galleries of Scotland told Scottish Construction Now: “We are delighted to announce that following the completion of an international tender process, John McAslan + Partners have been appointed to design the National Collections Facility in Granton, Edinburgh. The contract is to design a scheme which fully utilises the Granton site and will outline proposals for realising the site vision across what is expected to be four phases of construction. It is envisaged that the design would be submitted for Detailed Planning in winter 2017/18.

“The NCF will be a purpose-built collection centre for the high-quality care, and the effective management and distribution of the national art collection. It will transform public access and will help deliver an international and national presence for research and education. The NCF will also be an exemplar of high energy and efficiency underpinned by the rigour of the Passivhaus building standard.

“John McAslan + Partners have a superb international reputation and have delivered many important cultural projects in Doha, Russia and Morocco and have worked with major museums and galleries across the UK such as the Natural History Museum, the Courtauld Institute, Tate Britain and the British Museum.”

McAslan & Partners will now draw up detailed designs for the phased facility this winter, with completion anticipated by 2021.