Project Facts
Client
Royal Ontario Museum
Location
Toronto, ON
Status
In Progress
Size
206,000 Sq. Ft.
Partner
OpenROM is a sweeping 206,000sf architectural transformation of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) – Canada’s largest and most-attended museum of natural history and world cultures. This extensive renovation project aims to uncover additional programmable area within the existing footprint of the historic building, improving the visitor experience and positioning the ROM as a more open cultural and civic hub for its 1.4 million annual visitors.
Turning the museum inside-out, the design will bring daylight and views deep into the museum to create stronger connections between the public realm, lobby, and galleries. A fully accessible entrance anchors the exterior, sheltered by a cantilevered canopy. A new water feature will wrap the heritage façade, changing from burbling water in the summer to cracked ice in the winter – a nod to Canadian landscapes and the importance of sustainability. Inside, the foyer leads to the new heart of the museum and flexible program space, Hennick Commons, which will feature a soaring four-storey atrium with a diagrid glass ceiling. A grand staircase and series of ramp connectors serve as the architectural centrepiece, offering whimsical yet straightforward wayfinding and accessible platforms overlooking the commons to knit together old and new.
Early sketch by Siamak Hariri
Project Facts
Client
Royal Ontario Museum
Location
Toronto, ON
Status
In Progress
Size
206,000 Sq. Ft.
Partner
Recent Press
Level one floorplan
Level one floorplan
The feature lily pad staircase offers whimsical way finding to knit together old and new wings
The feature lily pad staircase offers whimsical way finding to knit together old and new wings
Hennick Commons will feature a high-performance diagrid glass ceiling above the new cultural living room
Hennick Commons will feature a high-performance diagrid glass ceiling above the new cultural living room
Ticketing functions will be relocated and visitors will see displays and artifacts upon entering the lobby
Ticketing functions will be relocated and visitors will see displays and artifacts upon entering the lobby
Water feature enwraps the heritage building at ROM
“OpenROM is more than a physical transformation; it is a major leap forward in the Museum’s ongoing evolution to becoming an even more welcoming and accessible spaces... This is an opportunity to truly throw the doors of the Museum open, both literally and figuratively, and invite more people in to experience all ROM has to offer.”
– Josh Basseches, ROM Director & CEO.
“OpenROM is more than a physical transformation; it is a major leap forward in the Museum’s ongoing evolution to becoming an even more welcoming and accessible spaces... This is an opportunity to truly throw the doors of the Museum open, both literally and figuratively, and invite more people in to experience all ROM has to offer.”
– Josh Basseches, ROM Director & CEO.
Water feature enwraps the heritage building at ROM
An oculus in the lobby provides views to the dinosaur galleries
An oculus in the lobby provides views to the dinosaur galleries
Project Credits
Project Team
Siamak Hariri, Doron Meinhard, Gegory Adams, Joe Loreto, Annie Cottrell, Madi Jantzi, Shaz Nasiri, Temitope Akinsiku, Lindsay Hochman, Ura Shoja, Sebastián López Cardoso
