Royal BC Museum Expansion

[aastra]

...the museum hopes to bring some of its buildings up to a maximum height of 14 storeys while remaining within its current 2.7-hectare footprint. The overall square footage would be bumped up to 895,000 from 379,000.

In what’s being called a first step to building more collections, gallery and exhibit buildings, as well as creating more restaurants, cafés and office space, museum staff put Victoria City Hall on notice yesterday that it has launched its official rezoning application process, with open houses beginning next week.

http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/R...141/story.html

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The museum is seeking a rezoning–the first step in a massive restructuring of the Royal British Columbia Museum (RBCM) site that envisages the demolition of the sunken gardens, the outdated 1969 Fannin Building (aka the curatorial tower) and nearby archives building. In its place, a small, dense cluster of towers would surround the existing 1967 exhibition building and the more recent IMAX theatre next to it.

http://vibrantvictoria.ca/?p=2049

[aastra]

If they eventually go through with this, I think the curatorial tower might just end up being the tallest building ever demolished in Victoria.

http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=victori...45.43,,0,-17.5

[aastra]

View of the site:

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=s22...54&lvl=2&sty=b

[hollywoodnorth]

how is this project moving along?

[Phil McAvity]

It's funny that they describe the 1969 Fannin building as "outdated" yet use no such adjective to describe the 1967 exhibition building.

[Phil McAvity]

Originally Posted by aastra

If they eventually go through with this, I think the curatorial tower might just end up being the tallest building ever demolished in Victoria.

It's going to be very close between this and the Permanent Loan Building.

[Holden West]

Originally Posted by Phil McAvity

It's funny that they describe the 1969 Fannin building as "outdated" yet use no such adjective to describe the 1967 exhibition building.

It seems the problem was the storage of archival materials. The main museum, the exhibition building, seems fine and the IMAX has to stay for a couple more decades because of the lease. But the archives tower is becoming a lousy place to store priceless artifacts--especially since the basement is under the water table and has flooded before. Then you have climate control, asbestos, overcrowding, etc.

Don't expect any action on this one for months or even years. This is a very long-term plan.

[aastra]

RBCM plan stumps design panel:
http://vibrantvictoria.ca/local-news...-design-panel/

The Royal British Columbia Museum’s expansion plan was presented to the City of Victoria’s Advisory Design Panel last week but the volunteer members were hard pressed to offer constructive criticism because the overall plan has yet to be fully fleshed out.

[hollywoodnorth]

thx for the update! keep em coming please!

[craneSpotter]

Museum's redevelopment supported by city council

http://www.timescolonist.com/travel/...621/story.html

TIMES COLONIST MAY 28, 2011

Victoria council has unanimously endorsed a plan to redevelop the Royal B.C.Museum, adding a tower up to 14 storeys high.

The museum's expansion would require the parking lot behind the current building be rezoned to a comprehensive development zone from its current family-residential zoning, which allows only duplexes. The first phase of the project would be a new, twotower structure of 12 and 14 storeys to go up on the parking lot.

Demolition of the current 14-storey museum and adjacent archives building would follow.

The museum plans to lease space it does not need for use as offices, which would create revenue to offset expansion costs. Its plan would relocate the Netherlands Carillon and conserve Thunderbird Park, Helmcken House and Mungo Martin House.