Construction of the new Chichester District Museum is now starting to take shape, with work on casting the concrete walls and floors of the structure's first and second floor levels currently taking place.

The tallest object on the site so far is the lift shaft, which will provide full disabled access throughout the building.

Expected to open to the public in autumn 2011, the new museum and heritage centre - on Tower Street and replacing the District Museum in Little London, Chichester - will illustrate life in the district over the past 500,000 years.

The site of the development contains the remains of the Roman baths of the city of Noviomagnus Regni, in addition to other archaeology. The remains of the baths were discovered in the 1970s and will be on display on the ground level of the new centre, visible through a glass floor.

The building will be built on piles, rather than foundations, in order to protect the archaeology located beneath the building. As part of the building works a bore hole has been installed, with a geological log. This provides a record of 50 million years of rock below the site, and links with the geology collections in the museum.

Facilities at the museum are to include learning and research rooms, a social history store, two galleries, a shop and a top floor window offering views out towards the city's cathedral.