Manchester-based architecture firm Buttress has seen off stiff competition from Heneghan Peng and Austin-Smith Lord to win the design contract for a £21m (US$32m, €27m) museum in Blackpool Winter Gardens.

The Blackpool Museum will document the town’s rise as the world’s first working class Victorian seaside town and celebrate its contribution to pop culture.

As part of the plans, the close to derelict Pavilion Theatre – which is part of the Grade II Listed complex – will also be renovated.

"We want to do something completely unique that you would only experience here,” said Blackpool Council leader, Simon Blackburn. “It will not be a conventional museum – it will be a dynamic and celebratory space, a blend of museum, visitor attraction and theatre, filled with artefacts, film, music and performance.”

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has granted £13.6m (US$20.6m, €17.5m) in development funding, while Blackpool council is contributing a further £20m (€25.8m, US$30.3m). The museum is scheduled to open in 2018.