Keith Williams Architects was appointed to the project after winning the 2007 RIBA architectural competition, with the multi-award winning new museum opening to the public on 8 July 2012. The 1,100 m2 Novium is located in Tower Street in line sight of Chichester’s Grade 1 listed medieval cathedral. The unique aspect of the project's site, a former car park, centres on the substantial archaeological remains of Chichester's Roman baths. The baths, part of Roman Chichester date from the 1st Century AD and the remains of the hypocaust are the most substantial Roman extant remains within the city walls. The new museum spans the hypocaust, which has been incorporated in situ into the main entrance gallery as a permanent exhibit and an intrinsic part of a museum. The Museum contains galleries over a further two floors, which have been designed to be flexible allowing both permanent and temporary exhibition, alongside education spaces, restoration, research and staff areas. The Novium has been immensely successful since opening leading to its accreditation as a National Museum in 2014.