Concept images have been released for the planned AU$428m (US$402m, €295.7m £235m) WA Museum in Perth, Australia.

Planned to be built by 2019 and opened in 2020, the facility’s first conceptual image of the interior shows a blue whale skeleton hanging overhead. Backers have also produced the results of a year-long project looking at the scope, cost and delivery details before a tender phase of development.

The new facility will replace the existing complex, with new buildings covering around 23,000sq m (247,569sq ft) – nearly four times the size of the current site – and being incorporated into the museum’s refurbished heritage facility at the Perth Cultural Centre.

Australia’s State Budget allocated AU$21m (US$19.7m, €14.5m, £11.5m) in 2014/2015 to cover expenses on the early part of the project, with architect and construction teams to be sought later this year and shortlisted in early 2015, with a tender process also coming later that year.

The project definition plan highlights a number of key outcomes, including the quality of the visitor experience, plus large, enlivened galleries and public spaces as key elements of the new facility’s design. A central outdoor space will link the heritage and new buildings, while core exhibition galleries will be supplemented by a temporary and touring exhibition gallery, café, plus retail and special function areas.