A nationwide competition has been launched to find two architects to work on the refurbishment of the Newlyn Gallery and the conversion of the former Exchange building in Penzance. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announced the competition last week and already there is plenty of interest from architects.

Once the successful architects are appointed, one will work on the 1895 gallery building in Newlyn and the other on the conversion of the ground floor of the old Exchange.

In a statement issued this week, a spokeswoman for the gallery said: "In Newlyn, we plan to refurbish and improve our historic and much-loved gallery to provide better space behind the scenes and better facilities.

"The gallery spaces themselves will remain as they are now, but we need to improve the gallery shop, provide a place for coffee, improve the entrance area and have a room for education work under our own roof.

"To do this we need to extend the building on the seaward side and add a porch at the entrance."

In Penzance, the architect will look at creating a more flexible gallery space as well as a proper education facility, gallery shop and a small cafe.

"The gallery has been consulting its audience, the local community and the arts community and has received a great deal of support and encouragement for its development plans," said the gallery spokeswoman.

"The team that currently runs Newlyn Art Gallery will develop into the management behind two gallery spaces, each with its own distinctive programme."

Staff are currently working to obtain the necessary funding for the development through applications to the Arts Lottery, Objective One and the South West Regional Development Agency.