Dublin-based heneghan peng Architects has won a competition to design the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough, Ontario. Chosen over four other shortlisted proposals, heneghan peng's winning design "embraces aboriginal wisdom to live and build lightly on the land," says the Museum, by "organically" integrating an elongated glass pavilion topped with a two-acre rooftop garden alongside the Trent-Severn waterway.
The practice will work with local firm Kearns Mancini Architects to realize the $45-million building. It is planned to rise on the city's 1904 Peterborough Lift Lock National Historic Site by 2020 and house the world's largest collection of canoes and kayaks.
According to the jury, the heneghan peng/Kearns Mancini team "stood out from the other submissions as the design works organically with the land rather than overwhelming it."
Clad in cedar, the single-story 80,000-square-foot building will be fitted with removable partitions so that the layout can be changed overtime. It will include 17,000-square-feet of exhibition space, a 20,000-square-foot high bay storage area accessible to the public, a 250-seat multi-purpose room, cafe, gift shop, play area, workshop space and more.
"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," added the jury.
The museum is expected to break ground in late 2017. It is expected to achieve LEED Gold upon completion.
News via Canadian Canoe Museum
