The Public has hurt me architect admits

Will Alsop admitted that mistakes made in the £72 million project had rubbed off on him.

But speaking to the Express & Star from Toronto, Canada, Mr Alsop said that he was confident that in a few years' time the problems would all be forgotten, and that he was "looking forward tremendously" to giving a talk at the arts centre in West Bromwich on Friday.

Mr Alsop has in the past described the building as his best work, but it has been surrounded by controversy since costs spiralled and it failed to open on time.

The project, which is running £49m over budget, has been the subject of an audit report which revealed it should be mothballed, decommissioned or even demolished.

Sandwell Council is now in charge of the project after the Arts Council walked away earlier this year, handing the authority a final £3m of funding.

This Friday's talk by the Stirling prize winner aims to give the audience an insight into the origins of some of The Public's projects and artworks.

Mr Alsop said: "I'm looking forward to it tremendously. It is still, I think, a very important and wonderful project.

"I'll be talking a little bit about the long history of this project. I was appointed in 1997, which is a long time ago.

"I want to go back and remind people where it came from, from my point of view, and say why I think it is a really important project."

Mr Alsop also admitted he was expecting a grilling from some members of the audience on problems associated with the building.

Asked if he ever thought the building had harmed his reputation, he said: "Sometimes I do. There are all sorts of suggestions

"Anytime I read things about it the costs of the building always fluctuate. What I would appreciate is that that figure isn't for the building, that is the total cost of the project and the whole cost of the building I would suspect is in the order of £30-£32m – under half of what is reported. That tends to reflect on me."

Described as the biggest arts scandal for decades by shadow arts minister Ed Vaizey, The Public went into administration in 2006, having gone millions of pounds over budget, with chief executive Sylvia King forced out along with half of her staff.

Mr Alsop, who has previously said the demise of the building effectively began when Sylvia King had to go, said everything was going swimmingly at the centre before she spotted a hole in the project's funding before it opened.

He said: "She had become a friend by this time and asked me what she should do. I said, 'go back to the powers that be and say there was a £2-£3m hole over a two to three-year period'.

"At least there's a bit of time to plan out a strategy to fill that hole.

"She did report it and that resulted in contractors being sent off site, lots of sackings and lots of nervousness. To send any builder that you have off site and then bring them back is one of the most expensive things that you can do. Some of what I consider their mistakes and their knee-jerk reaction does rub off on me."

He is confident that in years to come the public will put the teething problems behind them and he hopes they will enjoy the building he envisioned.

"People in the end remember the building, the experience and if there is a good combination in four or five years time, assuming that it continues to be successful, everyone will forget all those teething problems, but they will always remember the building."

The free talk is at 4.45pm on Friday. To reserve a place, call 0121 533 7161.