Visionary design announced for the new Canadian Canoe Museum

As a leader in 21

^st century sustainable design 

the 

museum 

will relocate to water's edge at 

Peterborough 

Lift Lock National Historic Site of Canada  

These innovative plans for the reinvention and relocation of the museum can be realized with your strong and continued support. We hope you will continue your backing of the museum and this important project in whatever way possible to make this move to the water a reality.

 

As a leader in 21^st-century sustainable design the museum will relocate to water's edge at Peterborough Lift Lock National Historic Site of Canada 

 

January 21, 2016 - Peterborough ON            

 

Members of the Architect Selection Committee and the Board of Directors of the Canadian Canoe Museum are proud, honoured and excited to announce that visionary architects heneghan peng Architects (Dublin, Ireland) and Kearns Mancini Architects (Toronto, Ontario) have won the international competition for the new $45-million Canadian Canoe Museum to be located at the majestic site of the 1904 Peterborough Lift Lock National Historic Site.

 

An elegant, serpentine glass pavilion graced by a two-acre rooftop garden has been selected as the winning design in the two-stage international competition. The design to house the world's largest collection of canoes and kayaks presents a Canadian game changer that organically and boldly curves out from the drumlins beside the Trent-Severn waterway. Envisioned with and for the community, the museum embraces aboriginal wisdom to live and build lightly on the land.

 

The Irish-Canadian design team brings to the Canadian Canoe Museum its rich experience in the design of high-profile museums and visitor centers in Toronto and around the world. Heneghan peng's competition-winning Grand Egyptian Museum is currently being constructed in Giza, Egypt at the foot of the Pyramids. Their stunning Giant's Causeway Visitors' Center in Northern Ireland folds its dramatic geometry into the hill above unique basalt stone cliffs at a World Heritage Site. Kearns Mancini Architects work includes dynamic university buildings in Canada as well as the award-winning Fort York Visitor Centre that inserts a powerful Cor-ten steel and glass volume below the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto.

 

The heneghan peng/ Kearns Mancini submission stood apart from the other submissions as the design works organically with the land rather than overwhelming it. In an era of climate change, its intelligence on sustainability impressed the design jury in many ways, not only for its geothermal heating/cooling and reduced energy costs. The embedded design has inherently lower operating costs with only the east and south glass walls exposed to the elements.   Inside, the 80,000-square-foot single floor design offers a flexible floor plate, allowing the Museum to adapt to changing expectations and technology over time through the ability to reconfigure the Museum experience and offerings by changing internal partitions.

 

The organically-shaped volume banded on its top edge with local hardwood is embedded within the site's drumlins, allowing the museum's light-sensitive collections of historic birch bark canoes that date back to the 1780s and aboriginal artefacts to enjoy energy-passive, naturally dark spaces. The museum's stunning two-acre green roof will provide the community with the possibility of creating edible gardens, native flower pollinators and aboriginal three sister plantings while facilitating efficient management of storm water and fantastic views to the Lift Lock.

 

"The design looks forward to the importance of sustainability, respect and responsibility as we move forward as a Nation to the Sesquicentennial in 2017, and beyond," says Richard Tucker, executive director of the Canadian Canoe Museum. "The design speaks to the importance of the contents, programming and messages conveyed by the Canadian Canoe Museum and its craft to all Canadians."

 

The Architect Selection Committee is chaired by Lisa Rochon, Senior Fellow, Global Cities Institute, University of Toronto and formerly the award-winning architecture critic for

The Globe & Mail. The Selection Committee included Chief Williams of Curve Lake First Nation, representatives from Parks Canada, the City of Peterborough, business leaders and museum staff.   Members met over several months to hear presentations from the five short-listed teams, and to give serious consideration to all of the exceptional designs during meetings at the Canadian Canoe Museum and at Curve Lake's Business Centre.

 

During the spring of 2015, the Canadian Canoe Museum was honoured to receive over 97 high-quality Stage 1 submissions from leading firms located all over the world. From that elite group of submissions, five leading firms were selected to submit designs for consideration by the Canadian Canoe Museum based on a 300-page design brief that laid out in detail the requirements of the Canadian Canoe Museum, Parks Canada and the City of Peterborough including First Nations, environmental, operational, functional, heritage, programming and planning considerations. Short-listed teams submitted their schemes mid-August, 2015.

 

As an enhancement to the rigorous review by the Architect Selection Committee, the submissions underwent a dynamic and instructive community engagement which included a popular public presentation by the competing architects in September at the existing Canadian Canoe Museum, as well as on-line media polls, emails, and letters.

 

The Canadian Canoe Museum is deeply impressed by the detailed thought, scope, creativity and quality of the submissions and the team's commitment to the process.  All five teams are to be recognized, commended and lauded for their achievements in this competition.

 

There will be a public presentation of the award of the contract to heneghan peng Kearns Mancini team held at the Canadian Canoe Museum at a date to be announced.   We encourage the public, volunteers, members and staff to come out and meet the design team and share their aspirations for new programming at the Museum.

 

In accordance with the Memorandum of Agreement signed in 2015 between Parks Canada and the Canadian Canoe Museum, the design team will immediately move ahead with preparing a planning submission to the City of Peterborough and Parks Canada as the first step towards the construction of the new Canadian Canoe Museum.  The Canadian Canoe Museum will continue to ramp up the capital investment campaign that will be necessary to fund construction of the new museum building on the contributions from the City of Peterborough and Founders that have supported our success to date. 

 

 

Quotes:

 

"The Peterborough Canadian Canoe Museum and Curve Lake First Nation are actively building relationships.  The canoe is a very important piece of our history, the history of this Mississauga ancestral territory.  It is significant for Curve Lake community to be recognized in the founders circle, be involved at every opportunity, extend support, and complement the work being undertaken to relocate a very impressive collection of our country's past, present, and future.  It is a journey we are part of.  It sets an example and opportunity to extend to others all over the world."

 

 

Chief Phyllis Williams, Curve Lake First Nation, Canadian Canoe Museum Selection Committee Member

 

 

"All of the short-listed submissions were beautiful and thoughtful. Each of the teams came to the interview table with amazing energy and passion for the Canadian Canoe Museum. Ultimately, the jury awarded the Heneghan Peng/Kearns Mancini scheme for exemplifying the lightness and sublime functionality of the canoe. The museum design breaks with ego-driven architecture to offer a gentle, organic space that poetically winds its way along the Trent-Severn. No matter where you are inside the museum or outside standing on its roof, you will always be able to see the water, and a canoe waiting to be paddled by you. I can't wait to see this museum built. It's going to change the way we think about architecture, place making and the canoe - a true icon of design.

 

Lisa Rochon, Chair, Canadian Canoe Museum Selection Committee

 

"I would like to thank Lisa Rochon, Chair of the Selection Committee, and the representatives from Parks Canada, City of Peterborough and Curve Lake First Nation for their insight, support, patience and hard work in thoughtfully and equitably considering the outstanding submissions received by the Canadian Canoe Museum.  The Canadian Canoe Museum will be accelerating the capital investment campaign building on the contributions from the City of Peterborough and Founders that have supported our success to date."

 

Bill Morris, Chair, Canadian Canoe Museum Board of Directors

 

"The Canadian Canoe Museum will immediately start work on the design and submission of a planning application to the City of Peterborough and Parks Canada to approve the new facility as well as laying the ground work for our fund raising campaign. 

 

This is a very significant and extremely important project for all Canadians, Parks Canada, The Canadian Canoe Museum, the City of Peterborough, the County of Peterborough, the Trent Severn Waterway and the entire Kawartha Region and we will need everybody's strong support and backing in whatever way possible to make this project a reality"

 

Richard Tucker, Executive Director, Canadian Canoe Museum

 

Quick Facts & Links

• www.canoemuseum.ca

• The building is approximately 80,000 square feet of internal area

• The design includes:

• • 17,000 sq ft of exhibition
  • 20,000 sq ft of high bay storage that will be accessible to the public
  • 250-seat multi-purpose room available for events and weddings
  • Eastern door for aboriginal sunrise ceremonies
  • Restaurant, café; local food
  • Gift shop
  • Toddler play area
  • Trent-Severn Canal Exhibition, Parks Canada
  • Artisanal workshops;
  • On-canal programming, canoe skills for all ages, winter and summer
  • Citizenship ceremonies in canoes, next to the museum
  • Connections to Trent-Severn bike-path, in front of the museum
  • Outdoor terrace and public space for yoga, food festivals 

• The building will be designed to LEED Gold designation, and aspires to LEED Platinum

• As a legacy project for Canada's Sesquicentennial and subject to securing funding from all levels of government and private donors, we are targeting a ground breaking for late 2017, to open 30 months later.

• The new Canadian Canoe Museum project supports economic growth through its design, consulting, and construction as well as by creating additional employment and business opportunities along the Trent-Severn Waterway.  As a template of 21^st-century sustainability, the Canadian Canoe Museum may facilitate the expansion of Peterborough and the region as a centre of clean technology. The Canadian Canoe Museum currently provides an economic contribution to the local region in excess of $10 million annually and supports over 83 direct, indirect and induced jobs. The project has the potential to create as many as 600 direct, indirect and induced construction jobs and up to 23 additional permanent direct, indirect and induced  jobs at the new Museum with its expanded programs and facilities.

• Altus Group cost consultants have estimated the construction, design, furniture all-inclusive cost to be in the range of $45 to $50 million depending on final design and start date of construction

Keep up to date with information about this project by following us on social media, or through our website.

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