The New Brunswick, Canada’s oldest continuously open museum, is to be expanded according to a design by Toronto firm Diamond Schmitt Architects.
The 182-year-old institution is located on a waterfront site in St John. It has a number of collections and an archive of more than 45,000 monographs relating to the museum’s interest in the natural sciences, provincial history, shipping, and the fine and decorative arts.
The plan is to add a 134,000 sq ft building to allow the museum to show more of its treasures. There will be nine galleries with permanent and temporary exhibition space, as well as research areas and “community zones” that will host educational programmes.
There will also be a new main entrance and multistorey public “room” that in intended to increase accessibility.
For the funding, US$42m will be provided by the New Brunswick government and $36m by Ottawa.
Donald Schmitt, Diamond Schmitt‘s principal, said: “Taking inspiration from the museum’s original site – one of the great vantage points in Saint John – our design embraces the rich history of New Brunswick’s heritage and natural landscape.
“This is a museum project for the past, present, and future, prioritising archives and conservation capabilities, major exhibition galleries, community and education spaces, and environmental sustainability through our goal of zero-carbon certification.”
