Ahead of the 10th Annual Spirit of Winnipeg Awards on March 6, we’re giving you a closer look at how finalists in each category are impacting our city. This week, we’re looking at one of our Building and Design finalists, the Manitoba Museum in partnership with Stantec for Alloway Hall.
What do people need to know about your organization?
Welcoming over 300,000 visitors each year, many attracted to the exhibitions featured in the new hall. The Manitoba Museum determined that selecting the right architecture firm for the project was critical. Stantec Architecture prides itself on understanding that their world begins at the intersection of community, creativity and client relationships. As active members of the communities they serve, Stantec designs with community in mind.
When prompted the expansion of Alloway Hall?
The Museum was forced to pass on world-class exhibitions that could not fit into a 5,000 sq ft exhibition hall. To continue to bring exhibitions which were mostly sized 8,000 to 10,000 sq ft, the hall needed to be expanded and renovated. A new hall would offer increased program space and greater flexibility in how to present the exhibitions as well. Design for the new hall needed to consider its function, providing increased flexibility for sound, light and space to optimize opportunities for exhibition presentations and other uses by the Museum. Additionally, Stantec needed to consider the potential significance of a new building, while contributing to the neighbourhood and providing a strong physical presence along Main Street within the context of the existing modernist structures that comprise the Manitoba Centennial Centre campus. The project was complicated, with many stakeholders, tying into many existing systems, and the construction site was remarkably confined.
What do you credit with your success?
The Manitoba Museum credits the teamwork of Stantec and Bockstael (construction manager) with the project management oversight by the Province of Manitoba Accommodations Services Division and the Manitoba Centennial Concert Hall Corporation with the successful delivery of the projects. The Construction Management with Design Assist process meant that Bockstael was brought into the design phase of the project to work with the architects and engineers to navigate the highly complex project that would be executed within an extremely confined site, all the while the Museum remained open to the public. What resulted was something that was not only beautiful and inspiring but also, critically, completed on time and budget.
What’s next for you?
The Manitoba Museum is currently under renewal with the $17.5M Bringing our Stories Forward Gallery Renewal Project that will see 42% of the galleries renewed, reopening in fall of 2020 in celebration of the Museum’s 50th anniversary and the Province of Manitoba’s 150th. Not surprisingly, Stantec and Bockstael have been engaged to continue to work their magic – to elevate and inspire while staying on time and budget!
