diff --git a/src/appleseed.studio/mainwindow/mainwindow.cpp b/src/appleseed.studio/mainwindow/mainwindow.cpp
index 380444ed29..55ebcf1f19 100644
--- a/src/appleseed.studio/mainwindow/mainwindow.cpp
+++ b/src/appleseed.studio/mainwindow/mainwindow.cpp
@@ -1254,6 +1254,9 @@ void MainWindow::start_rendering(const RenderingMode rendering_mode)
         rendering_mode == RenderingMode::InteractiveRendering ? "interactive" : "final";
     const ParamArray params = get_project_params(configuration_name);
 
+    if (!project->has_texture_store())
+        project->initialize_texture_store(params.child("texture_store"));
+
     // Effectively start rendering.
     m_rendering_manager.start_rendering(
         project,
diff --git a/src/appleseed.studio/mainwindow/rendering/materialdrophandler.cpp b/src/appleseed.studio/mainwindow/rendering/materialdrophandler.cpp
index a68b25dcdb..86b86e8841 100644
--- a/src/appleseed.studio/mainwindow/rendering/materialdrophandler.cpp
+++ b/src/appleseed.studio/mainwindow/rendering/materialdrophandler.cpp
@@ -43,15 +43,15 @@ namespace appleseed {
 namespace studio {
 
 MaterialDropHandler::MaterialDropHandler(
-    const renderer::Project&    project,
-    RenderingManager&           rendering_manager)
+    const renderer::Project&        project,
+    RenderingManager&               rendering_manager)
   : m_project(project), m_rendering_manager(rendering_manager)
 {
 }
 
 void MaterialDropHandler::slot_material_dropped(
-    const foundation::Vector2d& drop_pos,
-    const QString&          material_name)
+    const foundation::Vector2d&     drop_pos,
+    const QString&                  material_name)
 {
     m_drop_pos = drop_pos;
     m_material_name = material_name.toStdString();
diff --git a/src/appleseed.studio/mainwindow/rendering/materialdrophandler.h b/src/appleseed.studio/mainwindow/rendering/materialdrophandler.h
index 6a1c77330e..bc3b047b4b 100644
--- a/src/appleseed.studio/mainwindow/rendering/materialdrophandler.h
+++ b/src/appleseed.studio/mainwindow/rendering/materialdrophandler.h
@@ -55,19 +55,19 @@ class MaterialDropHandler
 
   public:
     MaterialDropHandler(
-        const renderer::Project&    project,
-        RenderingManager&           rendering_manager);
+        const renderer::Project&        project,
+        RenderingManager&               rendering_manager);
 
   public slots:
     void slot_material_dropped(
-        const foundation::Vector2d& drop_pos,
-        const QString&          material_name);
+        const foundation::Vector2d&     drop_pos,
+        const QString&                  material_name);
 
   private:
-    const renderer::Project&  m_project;
-    RenderingManager&         m_rendering_manager;
-    foundation::Vector2d      m_drop_pos;
-    std::string               m_material_name;
+    const renderer::Project&            m_project;
+    RenderingManager&                   m_rendering_manager;
+    foundation::Vector2d                m_drop_pos;
+    std::string                         m_material_name;
 
     void assign_material(const renderer::ObjectInstance::Side side);
 
diff --git a/src/appleseed.studio/mainwindow/rendering/rendertab.cpp b/src/appleseed.studio/mainwindow/rendering/rendertab.cpp
index 7552f27ca9..b47f7a8aff 100644
--- a/src/appleseed.studio/mainwindow/rendering/rendertab.cpp
+++ b/src/appleseed.studio/mainwindow/rendering/rendertab.cpp
@@ -498,7 +498,6 @@ void RenderTab::recreate_handlers()
     // Set initial state.
     m_pixel_inspector_handler->set_enabled(false);
     m_camera_controller->set_enabled(false);
-    m_scene_picking_handler->set_enabled(true);
 }
 
 }   // namespace studio
diff --git a/src/appleseed/foundation/string/internedstring.h b/src/appleseed/foundation/string/internedstring.h
index 6e9f1e5eb8..6735b0a929 100644
--- a/src/appleseed/foundation/string/internedstring.h
+++ b/src/appleseed/foundation/string/internedstring.h
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ namespace foundation
 //
 // There are also some disadvantages:
 //
-//  - Constructing an interned string can be slower that a normal string.
+//  - Constructing an interned string can be slower than a normal string.
 //  - Memory for the string characters is never freed.
 //
 // This implementation relies internally on OpenImageIO's ustring class.
diff --git a/src/appleseed/renderer/device/cpu/cpurenderdevice.cpp b/src/appleseed/renderer/device/cpu/cpurenderdevice.cpp
index 261d07ace8..80c40f1ed3 100644
--- a/src/appleseed/renderer/device/cpu/cpurenderdevice.cpp
+++ b/src/appleseed/renderer/device/cpu/cpurenderdevice.cpp
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ CPURenderDevice::CPURenderDevice(
     Project&                project,
     const ParamArray&       params)
   : RenderDeviceBase(project, params)
-  , m_texture_store(*project.get_scene(), params.child("texture_store"))
+  , m_texture_store(project.get_texture_store())
 {
     m_error_handler = new OIIOErrorHandler();
 #ifndef NDEBUG
diff --git a/src/appleseed/renderer/device/cpu/cpurenderdevice.h b/src/appleseed/renderer/device/cpu/cpurenderdevice.h
index f295e9c4c7..5e83f95f21 100644
--- a/src/appleseed/renderer/device/cpu/cpurenderdevice.h
+++ b/src/appleseed/renderer/device/cpu/cpurenderdevice.h
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@
 // appleseed.renderer headers.
 #include "renderer/device/cpu/cpurendercontext.h"
 #include "renderer/device/renderdevicebase.h"
-#include "renderer/kernel/texturing/texturestore.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/shadergroup/shadercompiler.h"
 
 // appleseed.foundation headers.
@@ -47,6 +46,7 @@ namespace renderer      { class OIIOTextureSystem; }
 namespace renderer      { class OSLShadingSystem; }
 namespace renderer      { class RendererComponents; }
 namespace renderer      { class RendererServices; }
+namespace renderer      { class TextureStore; }
 
 namespace renderer
 {
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ class CPURenderDevice
     RendererServices*                               m_renderer_services;
     OSLShadingSystem*                               m_shading_system;
     foundation::auto_release_ptr<ShaderCompiler>    m_osl_compiler;
-    TextureStore                                    m_texture_store;
+    TextureStore&                                   m_texture_store;
     std::unique_ptr<RendererComponents>             m_components;
 };
 
diff --git a/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/assemblytree.cpp b/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/assemblytree.cpp
index 5dac26b63c..95fdcea1c7 100644
--- a/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/assemblytree.cpp
+++ b/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/assemblytree.cpp
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@
 #include "renderer/modeling/object/meshobject.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/object/object.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/object/proceduralobject.h"
+#include "renderer/modeling/project/project.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/scene/assemblyinstance.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/scene/objectinstance.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/scene/scene.h"
@@ -77,9 +78,9 @@ namespace renderer
 // AssemblyTree class implementation.
 //
 
-AssemblyTree::AssemblyTree(const Scene& scene)
+AssemblyTree::AssemblyTree(const Project& project)
   : TreeType(AlignedAllocator<void>(System::get_l1_data_cache_line_size()))
-  , m_scene(scene)
+  , m_project(project)
 #ifdef APPLESEED_WITH_EMBREE
   , m_use_embree(false)
   , m_dirty(false)
@@ -163,7 +164,7 @@ void AssemblyTree::rebuild_assembly_tree()
     RENDERER_LOG_INFO("collecting assembly instances...");
     AABBVector assembly_instance_bboxes;
     collect_assembly_instances(
-        m_scene.assembly_instances(),
+        m_project.get_scene()->assembly_instances(),
         TransformSequence(),
         assembly_instance_bboxes);
 
@@ -185,7 +186,7 @@ void AssemblyTree::rebuild_assembly_tree()
     Builder builder;
     builder.build<DefaultWallclockTimer>(*this, partitioner, m_items.size(), AssemblyTreeMaxLeafSize);
     statistics.insert_time("build time", builder.get_build_time());
-    statistics.merge(bvh::TreeStatistics<AssemblyTree>(*this, AABB3d(m_scene.compute_bbox())));
+    statistics.merge(bvh::TreeStatistics<AssemblyTree>(*this, AABB3d(m_project.get_scene()->compute_bbox())));
 
     if (!m_items.empty())
     {
@@ -407,7 +408,7 @@ void AssemblyTree::create_triangle_tree(const Assembly& assembly)
         std::unique_ptr<ILazyFactory<TriangleTree>> triangle_tree_factory(
             new TriangleTreeFactory(
                 TriangleTree::Arguments(
-                    m_scene,
+                    m_project,
                     assembly.get_uid(),
                     assembly_bbox,
                     assembly)));
@@ -435,7 +436,7 @@ void AssemblyTree::create_curve_tree(const Assembly& assembly)
         std::unique_ptr<ILazyFactory<CurveTree>> curve_tree_factory(
             new CurveTreeFactory(
                 CurveTree::Arguments(
-                    m_scene,
+                    *m_project.get_scene(),
                     assembly.get_uid(),
                     assembly_bbox,
                     assembly)));
@@ -473,7 +474,7 @@ void AssemblyTree::create_embree_scene(const Assembly& assembly)
         std::unique_ptr<ILazyFactory<EmbreeScene>> embree_scene_factory(
             new EmbreeSceneFactory(
                 EmbreeScene::Arguments(
-                    m_scene.get_embree_device(),
+                    m_project.get_scene()->get_embree_device(),
                     assembly
                 )));
 
diff --git a/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/assemblytree.h b/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/assemblytree.h
index baa5daa81c..456c6af99f 100644
--- a/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/assemblytree.h
+++ b/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/assemblytree.h
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@
 // Forward declarations.
 namespace foundation    { class Statistics; }
 namespace renderer      { class AssemblyInstance; }
-namespace renderer      { class Scene; }
+namespace renderer      { class Project; }
 namespace renderer      { class ShadingPoint; }
 
 namespace renderer
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ class AssemblyTree
 {
   public:
     // Constructor, builds the tree for a given scene.
-    explicit AssemblyTree(const Scene& scene);
+    explicit AssemblyTree(const Project& project);
 
     // Destructor.
     ~AssemblyTree();
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ class AssemblyTree
     typedef std::vector<const Assembly*> AssemblyVector;
     typedef std::map<foundation::UniqueID, foundation::VersionID> AssemblyVersionMap;
 
-    const Scene&                    m_scene;
+    const Project&                  m_project;
     ItemVector                      m_items;
     AssemblyVersionMap              m_assembly_versions;
 
diff --git a/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/tracecontext.cpp b/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/tracecontext.cpp
index 9080ee5d48..7254b2921b 100644
--- a/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/tracecontext.cpp
+++ b/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/tracecontext.cpp
@@ -56,9 +56,9 @@ namespace renderer
 // TraceContext class implementation.
 //
 
-TraceContext::TraceContext(const Scene& scene)
-  : m_scene(scene)
-  , m_assembly_tree(new AssemblyTree(scene))
+TraceContext::TraceContext(const Project& project)
+  : m_project(project)
+  , m_assembly_tree(new AssemblyTree(project))
 {
     RENDERER_LOG_DEBUG(
         "data structures size:\n"
diff --git a/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/tracecontext.h b/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/tracecontext.h
index 2ec597bb46..17d398492e 100644
--- a/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/tracecontext.h
+++ b/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/tracecontext.h
@@ -32,6 +32,9 @@
 // appleseed.foundation headers.
 #include "foundation/core/concepts/noncopyable.h"
 
+// appleseed.renderer headers.
+#include "renderer/modeling/project/project.h"
+
 // appleseed.main headers.
 #include "main/dllsymbol.h"
 
@@ -54,7 +57,7 @@ class APPLESEED_DLLSYMBOL TraceContext
 {
   public:
     // Constructor, initializes the trace context for a given scene.
-    explicit TraceContext(const Scene& scene);
+    explicit TraceContext(const Project& project);
 
     // Destructor.
     ~TraceContext();
@@ -73,7 +76,7 @@ class APPLESEED_DLLSYMBOL TraceContext
 #endif
 
   private:
-    const Scene&    m_scene;
+    const Project&  m_project;
     AssemblyTree*   m_assembly_tree;
 };
 
@@ -84,7 +87,7 @@ class APPLESEED_DLLSYMBOL TraceContext
 
 inline const Scene& TraceContext::get_scene() const
 {
-    return m_scene;
+    return *m_project.get_scene();
 }
 
 inline const AssemblyTree& TraceContext::get_assembly_tree() const
diff --git a/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/triangletree.cpp b/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/triangletree.cpp
index e6ca78d54b..ad010a0f32 100644
--- a/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/triangletree.cpp
+++ b/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/triangletree.cpp
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@
 #include "renderer/modeling/object/meshobject.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/object/object.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/object/triangle.h"
+#include "renderer/modeling/project/project.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/scene/assembly.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/scene/containers.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/scene/objectinstance.h"
@@ -383,11 +384,11 @@ namespace
 }
 
 TriangleTree::Arguments::Arguments(
-    const Scene&            scene,
+    const Project&          project,
     const UniqueID          triangle_tree_uid,
     const GAABB3&           bbox,
     const Assembly&         assembly)
-  : m_scene(scene)
+  : m_project(project)
   , m_triangle_tree_uid(triangle_tree_uid)
   , m_bbox(bbox)
   , m_assembly(assembly)
@@ -1262,8 +1263,7 @@ void TriangleTree::update_intersection_filters()
         object_instances_to_filter_keys);
 
     // Create missing intersection filters and update existing ones.
-    TextureStore texture_store(m_arguments.m_scene);
-    TextureCache texture_cache(texture_store);
+    TextureCache texture_cache(m_arguments.m_project.get_texture_store());
     create_missing_intersection_filters(
         texture_cache,
         filter_keys,
diff --git a/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/triangletree.h b/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/triangletree.h
index 8222f1599e..883a7ddad6 100644
--- a/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/triangletree.h
+++ b/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/intersection/triangletree.h
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ namespace foundation    { class Statistics; }
 namespace renderer      { class Assembly; }
 namespace renderer      { class IntersectionFilter; }
 namespace renderer      { class ParamArray; }
-namespace renderer      { class Scene; }
+namespace renderer      { class Project; }
 namespace renderer      { class ShadingPoint; }
 
 namespace renderer
@@ -83,14 +83,14 @@ class TriangleTree
     // Construction arguments.
     struct Arguments
     {
-        const Scene&                            m_scene;
+        const Project&                          m_project;
         const foundation::UniqueID              m_triangle_tree_uid;
         const GAABB3                            m_bbox;
         const Assembly&                         m_assembly;
 
         // Constructor.
         Arguments(
-            const Scene&                        scene,
+            const Project&                      project,
             const foundation::UniqueID          triangle_tree_uid,
             const GAABB3&                       bbox,
             const Assembly&                     assembly);
diff --git a/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/lighting/backwardlightsampler.cpp b/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/lighting/backwardlightsampler.cpp
index 06e8ce70f6..7717fbe419 100644
--- a/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/lighting/backwardlightsampler.cpp
+++ b/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/lighting/backwardlightsampler.cpp
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ BackwardLightSampler::BackwardLightSampler(
     }
     else
     {
-        // Prepare the light-emitting shapes CDF for smapling.
+        // Prepare the light-emitting shapes CDF for sampling.
         if (m_emitting_shapes_cdf.valid())
             m_emitting_shapes_cdf.prepare();
 
diff --git a/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/rendering/scenepicker.cpp b/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/rendering/scenepicker.cpp
index 3b9bedfa5b..96184db5aa 100644
--- a/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/rendering/scenepicker.cpp
+++ b/src/appleseed/renderer/kernel/rendering/scenepicker.cpp
@@ -36,7 +36,6 @@
 #include "renderer/kernel/intersection/tracecontext.h"
 #include "renderer/kernel/shading/shadingray.h"
 #include "renderer/kernel/texturing/texturecache.h"
-#include "renderer/kernel/texturing/texturestore.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/bsdf/bsdftraits.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/bssrdf/bssrdftraits.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/camera/camera.h"
@@ -57,6 +56,9 @@
 #include <cstddef>
 #include <limits>
 
+// Forward declarations.
+namespace renderer  { class TextureStore; }
+
 using namespace foundation;
 
 namespace renderer
@@ -66,14 +68,14 @@ struct ScenePicker::Impl
 {
     const Project&      m_project;
     const TraceContext& m_trace_context;
-    TextureStore        m_texture_store;
+    TextureStore&       m_texture_store;
     TextureCache        m_texture_cache;
     Intersector         m_intersector;
 
     explicit Impl(const Project& project)
       : m_project(project)
       , m_trace_context(m_project.get_trace_context())
-      , m_texture_store(m_trace_context.get_scene())
+      , m_texture_store(m_project.get_texture_store())
       , m_texture_cache(m_texture_store)
       , m_intersector(m_trace_context, m_texture_cache)
     {
diff --git a/src/appleseed/renderer/meta/tests/test_intersector.cpp b/src/appleseed/renderer/meta/tests/test_intersector.cpp
index b7e39e6b23..4bb9a78794 100644
--- a/src/appleseed/renderer/meta/tests/test_intersector.cpp
+++ b/src/appleseed/renderer/meta/tests/test_intersector.cpp
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@
 #include "renderer/kernel/shading/shadingpoint.h"
 #include "renderer/kernel/shading/shadingray.h"
 #include "renderer/kernel/texturing/texturecache.h"
-#include "renderer/kernel/texturing/texturestore.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/object/object.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/scene/assembly.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/scene/assemblyinstance.h"
@@ -53,6 +52,9 @@
 #include "foundation/memory/autoreleaseptr.h"
 #include "foundation/utility/test.h"
 
+// Forward declarations.
+namespace renderer  { class TextureStore; }
+
 using namespace foundation;
 using namespace renderer;
 
@@ -96,13 +98,13 @@ TEST_SUITE(Renderer_Kernel_Intersection_Intersector)
       : public StaticTestSceneContext<TestScene>
     {
         TraceContext    m_trace_context;
-        TextureStore    m_texture_store;
+        TextureStore&   m_texture_store;
         TextureCache    m_texture_cache;
         Intersector     m_intersector;
 
         Fixture()
-          : m_trace_context(m_scene)
-          , m_texture_store(m_scene)
+          : m_trace_context(m_project)
+          , m_texture_store(m_project.get_texture_store())
           , m_texture_cache(m_texture_store)
           , m_intersector(m_trace_context, m_texture_cache)
         {
diff --git a/src/appleseed/renderer/meta/tests/test_tracer.cpp b/src/appleseed/renderer/meta/tests/test_tracer.cpp
index 10c252cfc1..90ba4e4c0f 100644
--- a/src/appleseed/renderer/meta/tests/test_tracer.cpp
+++ b/src/appleseed/renderer/meta/tests/test_tracer.cpp
@@ -40,7 +40,6 @@
 #include "renderer/kernel/shading/shadingray.h"
 #include "renderer/kernel/texturing/oiiotexturesystem.h"
 #include "renderer/kernel/texturing/texturecache.h"
-#include "renderer/kernel/texturing/texturestore.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/camera/pinholecamera.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/color/colorentity.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/entity/onframebeginrecorder.h"
@@ -79,6 +78,9 @@
 // Standard headers.
 #include <memory>
 
+// Forward declarations.
+namespace renderer  { class TextureStore; }
+
 using namespace foundation;
 using namespace renderer;
 
@@ -216,7 +218,7 @@ TEST_SUITE(Renderer_Kernel_Lighting_Tracer)
       : public StaticTestSceneContext<typename FixtureParams::FixtureBaseClass>
     {
         TraceContext                            m_trace_context;
-        TextureStore                            m_texture_store;
+        TextureStore&                           m_texture_store;
         TextureCache                            m_texture_cache;
         Intersector                             m_intersector;
         std::shared_ptr<OIIOTextureSystem>      m_texture_system;
@@ -228,8 +230,8 @@ TEST_SUITE(Renderer_Kernel_Lighting_Tracer)
         Tracer                                  m_tracer;
 
         Fixture()
-          : m_trace_context(FixtureParams::FixtureBaseClass::m_scene)
-          , m_texture_store(FixtureParams::FixtureBaseClass::m_scene)
+          : m_trace_context(FixtureParams::FixtureBaseClass::m_project)
+          , m_texture_store(FixtureParams::FixtureBaseClass::m_project.get_texture_store())
           , m_texture_cache(m_texture_store)
           , m_intersector(m_trace_context, m_texture_cache)
           , m_texture_system(
diff --git a/src/appleseed/renderer/modeling/project/project.cpp b/src/appleseed/renderer/modeling/project/project.cpp
index e1f5f11dfe..d11ed0cebe 100644
--- a/src/appleseed/renderer/modeling/project/project.cpp
+++ b/src/appleseed/renderer/modeling/project/project.cpp
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
 #include "renderer/global/globallogger.h"
 #include "renderer/kernel/intersection/tracecontext.h"
 #include "renderer/kernel/lighting/lightpathrecorder.h"
+#include "renderer/kernel/texturing/texturestore.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/aov/aovfactoryregistrar.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/bsdf/bsdffactoryregistrar.h"
 #include "renderer/modeling/bssrdf/bssrdffactoryregistrar.h"
@@ -126,6 +127,7 @@ struct Project::Impl
     LightPathRecorder                   m_light_path_recorder;
     std::unique_ptr<TraceContext>       m_trace_context;
     RenderingTimer                      m_rendering_timer;
+    std::unique_ptr<TextureStore>       m_texture_store;
 
     explicit Impl(const Project& project)
       : m_format_revision(ProjectFormatRevision)
@@ -358,10 +360,7 @@ bool Project::has_trace_context() const
 const TraceContext& Project::get_trace_context() const
 {
     if (!impl->m_trace_context)
-    {
-        assert(impl->m_scene.get());
-        impl->m_trace_context.reset(new TraceContext(*impl->m_scene));
-    }
+        impl->m_trace_context.reset(new TraceContext(*this));
 
     return *impl->m_trace_context;
 }
@@ -436,6 +435,25 @@ void Project::on_frame_end(
     impl->m_rendering_timer.measure();
 }
 
+void Project::initialize_texture_store(const ParamArray& params)
+{
+    assert(impl->m_scene.get());
+
+    impl->m_texture_store.reset(new TextureStore(*impl->m_scene, params));
+}
+
+bool Project::has_texture_store() const
+{
+    return impl->m_texture_store.get() != nullptr;
+}
+
+TextureStore& Project::get_texture_store() const
+{
+    assert(impl->m_texture_store);
+
+    return *impl->m_texture_store;
+}
+
 void Project::add_base_configurations()
 {
     impl->m_configurations.insert(BaseConfigurationFactory::create_base_final());
diff --git a/src/appleseed/renderer/modeling/project/project.h b/src/appleseed/renderer/modeling/project/project.h
index 3855f717f7..4e58c92733 100644
--- a/src/appleseed/renderer/modeling/project/project.h
+++ b/src/appleseed/renderer/modeling/project/project.h
@@ -80,11 +80,13 @@ namespace renderer      { class LightPathRecorder; }
 namespace renderer      { class Material; }
 namespace renderer      { class Object; }
 namespace renderer      { class OnFrameBeginRecorder; }
+namespace renderer      { class ParamArray; }
 namespace renderer      { class PluginStore; }
 namespace renderer      { class PostProcessingStage; }
 namespace renderer      { class Scene; }
 namespace renderer      { class SurfaceShader; }
 namespace renderer      { class Texture; }
+namespace renderer      { class TextureStore; }
 namespace renderer      { class TraceContext; }
 namespace renderer      { class Volume; }
 
@@ -192,6 +194,15 @@ class APPLESEED_DLLSYMBOL Project
         const Project&                  project,
         const BaseGroup*                parent) override;
 
+    // Initialize the texture store.
+    void initialize_texture_store(const ParamArray& params);
+
+    // Return true if the texture store has already been initialized.
+    bool has_texture_store() const;
+
+    // Get the texture store.
+    TextureStore& get_texture_store() const;
+
   private:
     friend class ProjectFactory;