ROM announces $130M transformation plan, will make ground floor exhibits free
The Royal Ontario Museum has announced a three-year construction plan to transform the museum's main floor and Bloor Street entrance, expand its galleries and make its ground level exhibits free to visitors.
The architectural transformation will take three years in construction, and will include installing an expansive canopy, featuring a floor-to-ceiling glass entryway at the Bloor Street entrance and building on the "iconic" Daniel Libeskind-designed Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, the museum said.
"This is an opportunity to truly throw the doors of the museum open, both literally and figuratively, and invite more people in to experience all ROM has to offer," ROM director and CEO Josh Basseches said at a news conference.
The transformation is part of the museum's 2018 OpenROM initiative to open up the museum to the public for free, "and create a cultural and civic hub in the heart of the city," Basseches said.
The new design includes a year-round water feature at the corner of Bloor Street, transforming 86,000 square feet on the main floor, as well as creating 6,000 square feet of new gallery space on the second and third levels, among other changes.
Work to begin this month
While work is set to begin this month, the museum will remain open throughout the three-year construction period.
The museum says it has raised $80 million of the $130 million cost of the project. Out of that $80 million, $50 million was a donation from the Hennick Family Foundation — headed by Canadian billionaire Jay Hennick — and the remaining $30 million by private donations.
A model of the Royal Ontario Museum's redesign is displayed during an announcement held by the institution in Toronto on Wednesday Feb. 14, 2024. The ROM is redesigning its first floor, expanding its galleries, and making ground level exhibits free to visitors, officials announced. (Nicole Thompson/The Canadian Press)
The donation by Hennick family is also the largest cash donation in ROM's history, which is why the new "sweeping sunlit heart of the museum" will be named Hennick Commons, Basseches said.
The Hennick Commons will be a four-storey atrium capped with a glass ceiling, where visitors will encounter a new, 2,400-square-foot forum where regular performances, programs, and hands-on experiences will take place.
Hennick said it is important for ROM, which he calls the "largest and most important cultural institution in not just Ontario, but Canada," to realize its full potential through this project.
"Just visit the ROM, visit corners of it over the course of time, and you'll see things that will blow you away," he said.
The project is being led by Siamak Hariri of Toronto-based firm Hariri Pontarini Architects, who called the project an "endearing idea."
"You collect. You give your best treasures. You don't just hide them away, these are your most cherished works. You don't just keep them for yourself in your own little palace, you make them available and give them to everyone," Hariri said.
'Major leap forward' in museum's evolution, CEO says
The museum currently has a summer-long free main floor pilot program, but once the construction is complete, access to the main floor will be free year-round. The year-round free admission also includes unlimited access to special programming, live performances, and hands-on activities.
"It is a major leap forward in the museum's ongoing evolution to becoming an even more welcoming and accessible space," Basseches said.
The museum began its renewal plan in 2017 when it reopened the Weston Entrance on Queen's park, introduced a new public outdoor space on Bloor Street in 2019, and then in 2021 opened a gallery — the first major permanent gallery of its kind.
"The next in a series of bold architectural initiatives, OpenROM will elevate the museum's role as a vital Toronto landmark, recognized as Canada's preeminent museum and one of the world's great cultural institutions," said Basseches.
