To bring the CPS to life and to achieve the vision set out for revitalising the CPS as an arts hub in the centre of the city, a new medium-sized exhibition space that can house international high value loans and similarly scaled multi-purpose space, complemented by supporting educational and commercial facilities will have to be provided. 

A number of different design options have been identified and examined.  The option of only utilising the existing buildings for adaptive use was initially examined.  There are a number of larger spaces within the existing buildings (the Old Gymnasium in the Police Headquarters; the two courtrooms in the Magistracy; some of the upper floor dormitory rooms in the Barrack Block) and these were considered as potential spaces for the multi-purpose space and for the art galleries.  They were, however, all ruled out as either not being large enough for the proposed uses, requiring substantial intervention or for other difficulties such as restricted accessibility.

The CPS Ltd is mindful that there is a need to strike a balance to achieving both the “heritage” and “visual arts” aims in its vision of the Project and felt that limited new building was the best way of providing accommodation for international quality exhibitions and conferences/ events/ performance/education space as well as for the necessary machinery and plant to service the whole site.  The modestly dimensioned new buildings will enrich the CPS immeasurably by providing added flexibility, function and cultural use to the site while preserving the existing heritage buildings and making them accessible to the public.  This is in line with many other examples of heritage buildings worldwide that have been converted for modern/contemporary visual arts use but that need new buildings added to them to adequately fulfil their role.

The only open spaces within the CPS that would allow the construction of new buildings are the lower courtyard (the Parade Ground) between the Police Headquarters and the Barrack Blocks, and the upper courtyard (the Prison Yard) within the Victoria Prison Compound.  However, both the courtyards are significant spaces in terms of cultural heritage and it was decided not to compromise these spaces by building within them.

A Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for the CPS was prepared in 2008, which concluded that there were only two potential sites where new buildings could be inserted.  These sites were on the west side of the Prison Yard where the General Office is located (consisting of some modern single storey office buildings, some small brick single storey stores and the modern single story asbestos roofed extension on the west end of ‘D’ Hall) and on the east side of the Prison Yard (consisting of the Laundry Yard, the single storey work shed and adjacent lavatories).  Both these sites have very limited heritage value.  The structure of the Laundry Yard has been substantially altered in the past and is not viable for modern loadings and none of the proposed structures to be removed constitute a significant loss in heritage terms.  The benefit to the rest of the whole Site by replacing them with purpose built new facilities far outweighs the benefits of any possible adaptive re-use.

Therefore, the conclusion was reached that in order to provide museum-quality exhibition space and a flexible venue for performances/concerts/lectures and events at the CPS, and minimising intervention in the existing historic buildings by housing the cooling plant at a new centralised location, as well as to make it both culturally and financially viable, new buildings would be needed, potentially taking the footprint of the General Office and the Laundry Yard.