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EDMONTON — After more than three years of construction, thousands flocked to the new Royal Alberta Museum (RAM) after it opened to the public this month in Edmonton.
The $375 million facility is twice the size of the old museum and houses approximately two million items, making it the largest museum in Western Canada.
An opening ceremony was hosted by Premier Rachel Notley that included an Indigenous blessing and the unveiling of two bronze mammoth sculptures that are a centrepiece of the lobby.
“Alberta is a province full of compelling stories,” said Notley. “The Royal Alberta Museum gives Albertans the opportunity to live in and share those stories, told from many perspectives, including those of Indigenous communities. These stories will provide us all a greater sense of the people, places
and identity of Alberta and are an important contribution to our cultural landscape.”
Construction of the RAM began in 2013 and wrapped up in 2016.
According to DIALOG, the firm tasked with designing the museum, the project was certified LEED Gold and tailormade for the region’s extreme weather.
Outdoor temperatures vary between -40 C to more than 35 C so the concrete structure and roof was built to provide a thermal mass that helps mitigate the large temperature changes.
This keeps the structure safe and the interior protected. This process is known as the thermal flywheel-effect and it allows for reduced dependence on mechanical systems and helps protect the museum’s collections in the event of a power outage.
The museum also features a cast-in-place concrete spiral that rises eight metres and spans more than 18 metres. The concrete is expected to allow the building to meet a 100-year life cycle.
The team utilized portland cement with recycled fly ash as a supplementary cement material and materials containing recycled content were produced locally in Alberta. During construction, reinforcing steel was hung off temporary beams spanning across the formwork from above so that chair marks are not visible on the exposed soffit.
Once construction was complete, crews had to move the millions of artifacts and specimens and display them in the new building. Despite the long process, officials say the project was completed on budget.
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