The history of Alberta and its people will be brought to life in a renewed and expanded Royal Alberta Museum, boosted by an additional $20 million contribution from the Government of Alberta. This brings the Alberta government's overall commitment to the first phase of the project to $170 million of the $200 million cost. "The renewed museum was envisioned as a Centennial project that would preserve our history while engaging and inspiring generations of Albertans," said Alberta Community Development Minister Denis Ducharme. "We are committed to building a museum that all Albertans can be proud of, and one that will stand with distinction in North America."
Phase 1 will include:
- A 250,000 square-foot (23,000 plus square-metres) addition to accommodate new galleries, collections storage, office and lab space.
- New galleries to profile Ancient Alberta, Alberta Archaeology, Alberta History, the Southesk Collection, and the Bug Room, along with new spaces dedicated to children and an Information Zone. The existing Wild Alberta and Aboriginal Culture galleries will be updated.
- Underground parking for 300 vehicles.
- Upgrades to the existing building to ensure it can support museum operations well into the future.
"Canada's New Government is proud to join in the celebration of the renewal and expansion of the Royal Alberta Museum," said Laurie Hawn, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre on behalf of the Honourable Carol Skelton, Minister of National Revenue and Western Economic Diversification. "Renewing the Royal Alberta Museum is one way we're helping create a lasting legacy for all Canadians and visitors to enjoy today and for generations to come."
The design team was led by Cohos Evamy + Lundholm Associates Architects.
The remainder of funding for Phase 1 of the project comes from the Government of Canada Centennial Initiative in Alberta through Western Economic Diversification Canada ($30 million), and a City of Edmonton Centennial gift of $50,000.
Construction on Phase 1 is anticipated to begin in spring/summer 2007 and be completed in 2011. While the museum will be closed for approximately 18 months once construction begins, it will look for other means of sharing the Alberta story with Albertans.
Future phases will allow for functional and architectural modifications, including shifting the museum entrance to the north side of the building facing 102 Avenue and linking the museum to the river valley. These phases will be undertaken when visitor use of the museum and collections growth warrants their implementation and when the necessary partnerships are in place.
The Vision for all Phases of Project Renewal
The Royal Alberta Museum sits on a promontory overlooking the North Saskatchewan River Valley. To the east is Groat Ravine, the Legislature Grounds and downtown Edmonton. To the west is Ramsey Ravine and Fort Edmonton Park. To the north is 102 Avenue, historic Athabasca Avenue. And in the centre of the site is Government House, opened in 1913 as the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor.
The site reflects the story of Alberta itself, embracing aspects of city, park and wilderness. Alberta is a province of rivers; they were the transportation route of the first nations and the early explorers. The North Saskatchewan was the site of the birth of our Capital City. The renewed Museum embodies this sense of place and creates a kind of belvedere, a reflective place telling the story of our Province.
The building, the site and the contents are interwoven into an engaging visitor experience that moves from the site, to the building, to the exhibitions and collections, out to the river valley and back. Linked together, they create a destination of significance for all Albertans. The design process itself speaks to this integration. The team of museum specialists, architects, landscape architects, interior designers and engineers are working collaboratively to realize the full potential of this remarkable project. The integrated design process explores the relationship between the architectural vision and the engineering principles to achieve the best museological standards and to create a facility that supports the goals of the Museum and is a model of responsible, sustainable design.
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Architectural Vision
The architecture creates a visitor experience that is personal, powerful and enduring. An engaging dialogue is created between the architecture, the exhibits, the collections and the site. Each is informed by and made richer by the other. The design gives form to the Museum’s mandate – to preserve and to tell the stories of Alberta’s natural and cultural history.
The formative element of the design is an articulated, fractured roof form that draws inspiration from the rivers and valleys of Alberta. It invites the community into the Museum at 102 Avenue, traverses the existing building, and winds its way across the site to overlook the North Saskatchewan River Valley.
The building opens up to the sky and carves into the site to create a central ravine exposing the depth and breadth of the Museum. The valley is drawn into the building as the building itself reaches out to the landscape.
The visitor circulation is an unfolding and intuitive spatial experience – a series of Alberta stories that moves from outside to in and from inside to out. Space expands and contracts, opens out and folds in. It recalls the diversity of our landscape from the vastness of our prairies to the drama of our mountain canyons. The visitor moves from the galleries where the stories are told to the collections and curatorial spaces where the stories are preserved and out to the gardens and landscape that are in themselves a series of interconnected stories.
The design seeks to open up the Museum, in essence to create a museum without walls. Layers are removed to create transparency and translucency. The visitor is offered views of the back of house functions and encouraged to explore and understand the role of the Museum in collecting, preserving and researching Alberta’s human and natural history.
The grounds of the Museum are inspired by the site’s unique geography – city, park and wilderness. They are imagined as a series of interconnected yet distinct places. The gardens and landscapes celebrate Alberta’s diversity and the unique features include Government House, the valley edge, the views and the sky. They depict the relation between our lives and the natural processes through the seasons and the years.
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