Royal Ontario Museum announces major renovations
OpenROM rendering (courtesy ROM)
The Royal Ontario Museum has announced major new renovations, set to start this month.
OpenROM will include an architectural renovation of the museum’s core and a newly designed Bloor Street entrance. Other additions include “a showcase water feature that will wrap around the heritage façade and evolve with the seasons, transforming from burbling water in the summer to cracked ice in the winter,” according to the news release, as well as “The Hennick Commons, a new four-storey sunlit atrium topped with a high-performance diagrid glass ceiling and featuring a 2,400 square foot forum, where visitors can gather and enjoy performances and programming ranging from live music to hands-on learning.”
An additional 6,000 feet of gallery space will also be added to the second and third floors of the museum.
The Canadian firm Hariri Pontarini Architects is leading the project, which will build on the iconic Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, designed by Daniel Libeskind.
The project is beginning thanks to a $50-million donation from the Hennick Family Foundation, the largest cash gift in ROM’s history.
The museum will remain open during the three-year construction project.
Source: Royal Ontario Museum
