Steel
structure completed
for
the ROM’s Michael Lee-Chin Crystal
Final
major steel beam, signed by ROM workers and donors, to be
lifted into place at a Topping Off Ceremony on July 12, 2005.
(Toronto,
Ontario – July 5, 2005) – The Royal Ontario Museum’s (ROM)
$211-million Renaissance ROM expansion project reaches an important
milestone as the framework of one of Canada’s most complex steel
structures, the Museum’s new Michael Lee-Chin Crystal building, is
completed. During a Topping Off Ceremony on Tuesday, July 12, 2005,
William Thorsell, ROM Director and CEO, Daniel Libeskind, lead architect,
and Walter Koppelaar, President of Walters Inc. will sign the final major
structural steel beam, already bearing the signatures of the steelworkers,
construction workers, project engineers, Museum staff and volunteers, and
major donors to the Renaissance ROM project.
Topping
Off ceremonies are historical traditions in construction projects,
celebrating the completion of the structure of a building. The signed
final beam, decorated with the flags of Canada, Ontario, Renaissance ROM,
Walters Inc., Vanbots Construction Corp., Local 721 Iron Workers, and an
evergreen tree to mark an accident-free construction site, will be hoisted
into position at a height of about 70 feet, directly over what will become
the main entrance to the
Michael
Lee-Chin Crystal on Bloor Street West. The Crystal building is designed by
renowned architect Daniel Libeskind in a joint venture with Bregman +
Hamann Architects.
“The
completion of the steel structure would not be possible without the hard
work of many individuals and continued community support,” said William
Thorsell.
“Not
only are we one step closer to the opening of the Michael Lee-Chin
Crystal, scheduled to open next summer, but we have reached a significant
moment in
Canadian
architecture. The contemporary Crystal building will redefine the corner
of Bloor and Queen’s Park and become the heart of Toronto’s cultural
life.”
Royal
Ontario Museum 100
Queen’s Park t 416.586.8000
Musée royal de l’Ontario Toronto, Ontario www.rom.on.ca
M5S
2C6
Photograph
by Wanda Dobrowlanski, courtesy
Royal
Ontario Museum.
News
Release Page 2 of 3
July
5, 2005
Since
breaking ground on May 28, 2003, the 70 by 80 metre site has become the
centre of one of the most challenging construction jobs under way in North
America. The Michael Lee-Chin Crystal is situated at the north end of the
Museum facing Bloor Street West, nestled between the Museum’s heritage
buildings -- Philosophers’ Walk wing (built in 1914) to the west and the
centre block and the Queen's Park building to be named for the Weston
Family
(built
in 1933) to the south and east. The Crystal comprises five unique
crystalline forms that come together to form the entire Michael Lee-Chin
Crystal and give an extraordinary new outline of the ROM.
This
was no simple task, explains Walter Koppelaar, President of Walters Inc.
of Hamilton, the steel fabricators and erectors for the new addition.
“The complexity of the Libeskind-designed building and the confined
space in which it was built made this a challenging and rewarding
experience. Most construction contracts involve 90-degree corners and
perpendicular surfaces. The ROM’s expansion pushed the limits of steel
fabrication and construction.”
Due
to the confined size of the construction site, materials from Walters Inc.
could not arrive all at once. The steel beams, each unique and ranging
from one metre to 25 metres in length, arrived in shipments of about 25
tonnes and were typically onsite for only a day prior to their
installation. Construction workers and project engineers used laptops and
3-D illustrations to visualize how the steel shapes fit together. An
eighty metre crane, erected at the centre of the
site,
lifted the beams, one by one, to a specific angle, with a three- or four -millimetre
tolerance creating the complicated angle joints, sloped walls, and gallery
ceilings, some that rise to almost 40 metres.
From
the base of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal eight metres below grade, the
first visible shape to take form was the Stair of Wonders. Over the next
two years, the framework rose in numerous angles, reaching its highest
peak at 36.5 metres. The northernmost tip of the Crystal will overhang the
Bloor Street West sidewalk four stories above ground. Approximately 2,800 tonnes
of steel, 3,000 steel pieces, 38 tonnes of bolts, and 9,000 cubic metres
of concrete were used to complete the Crystal’s structure. During peak
construction periods, around 150 steel
and
construction workers were onsite, up to 30 working on the steel structure.
Remarkably, only 20 working days were lost due to bad weather through two
winters of construction.
This
summer, the next stage of construction continues with fireproofing the
steel beams, installing metal decks and concrete floors, and conducting
cladding surveys. The stair treads of Photograph by Steven Evans, courtesy
Royal
Ontario
Museum.
News
Release Page 3 of 3 July 5, 2005 the Stair of Wonders will be added at the
end of this summer and the first cladding will be placed in the fall. The
extruded aluminum cladding, which will hang from the steel structure, will
cover 75 per cent of the building; the remaining 25 per cent of the
outside walls will be glass. The Michael Lee-Chin Crystal is scheduled to
open to the public during summer of 2006.
As
the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal building comes to life, the renovation and
installation continues in the new and reconceived galleries in the ROM’s
heritage buildings. The first of these galleries, including a new wing
devoted to galleries of China, Japan and Korea and a new gallery for
Canadian First Peoples, will open in the Museum’s heritage buildings in
December 2005.
For
more information on Renaissance ROM, please visit www.rom.on.ca/renaissance.
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30 –
Background:
The
Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is an agency of the Government of Ontario.
Created in 1912, Canada’s largest museum of natural history and world
cultures has six million objects in its collections and galleries
showcasing art, archaeology and natural science. March 19, 2004 marked the
90th anniversary of the ROM.
Renaissance
ROM is an ambitious expansion and heritage renovation project that will
transform the Royal Ontario Museum into one of North America's great
museums and a leading cultural attraction for the city, province and
country. The Museum's vast collections, some of which have never before
been displayed, will be showcased in over 300,000 square feet of dramatic
new and expanded galleries and public spaces. A major new wing, the
Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, is being added to the Museum, designed by
renowned architect Daniel
Libeskind
in a joint venture with Bregman + Hamann Architects. Haley Sharpe Design
leads the gallery design process and Vanbots Construction Corp. is
Construction Manager. The Hon. Hilary M. Weston leads an 80- member
fundraising Campaign Cabinet that held its Groundbreaking and Campaign
Launch on May 28, 2003.
The
renovated heritage galleries and Michael Lee-Chin Crystal will open in
stages between December 15, 2005 and early 2007. Renaissance ROM will
allow the ROM to expand its public programming, scientific research and
educational
mandates.
For
24-hour information in English and French, please call (416) 586-8000 or
visit the ROM’s web site at www.rom.on.ca
