Maple Reinders wins $204M Royal BC Museum contract
The project will protect the province’s priceless artifacts and records.
A rendering shows the design of the new Royal BC Museum facility. – Province of B.C.
Key Takeaways:
- Maple Reinders will design and build the $270-million Royal BC Museum Collections and Research Building in Colwood, B.C.
- The 15,200-square-metre building’s design will feature mass timber and energy efficient components.
- Construction on the project is set to begin in the coming months, with completion expected in 2026.
The Whole Story:
Maple Reinders has been chosen to build the Royal BC Museum Collections and Research Building in Colwood, B.C.
The $204.8-million contract award came after an extensive procurement and partnering process with the province, Royal BC Museum, and Esquimalt and Songhees Nations.
The new $270-million facility will be an advanced, sustainable, and culturally sensitive building that will serve as a community and learning hub for the region. Once complete, the new facility will house the Royal BC Museum’s collections, research departments, learning spaces and the BC Archives. Mass timber construction will be used extensively and the building will meet CleanBC energy efficiency standards, and target LEED Gold Certification.
The project is meant to protect the collection of more than seven million artifacts and the BC Archives. Some of the items are at risk from flooding. They include: archival books and manuscripts; rare and priceless artworks, including watercolours from the 1700s; several paintings by Emily Carr; and early provincial maps.
Key areas of the Collections and Research Building will be open to the public, facilitating community access to the collections and to museum staff. Visitors will be able to interact with displays and artifacts that shed light on the history of the province and observe researchers at work in person and online in the media centre.
“We are humbled to have been chosen to design and construct this important cultural facility,” said Reuben Scholtens, vice president of major projects at the Maple Reinders Group. “Our team is committed to delivering a world-class facility that will not only serve as a community and learning hub but will reflect and pay respect to the deep cultural connections the local Indigenous peoples have to the place where the facility will stand. There is a vibrant and compelling story to be told and we are enthused at the prospect of being able to assist in its telling.”
Construction on the project is set to begin in the coming months, with completion expected in 2026.
