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One of Daniel Libeskind’s major projects will undergo a considerable makeover in just 15 years. On February 14, Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) announced plans to rebuild much of its controversial Michael Leachin Crystal Wing, which was completed by Libeskind in 2008.
The project is called “OpenROM” and is being led by Siamak Hariri of Toronto-based Hariri Pontarini Architects. It will occupy 86,000 square feet of the main floor, including the lobby and main entrance, and add 6,000 square feet of new gallery space. “We are reintroducing the ROM to Toronto with a design that literally turns the museum inside out,” Hariri said in a statement.
A bronze canopy will extend over the new Bloor Street entrance. Image courtesy Hariri Pontarini Architects
The Michael Lee-Chin Crystal expansion has received mixed reviews since its debut in 2008. Image courtesy Hariri Pontarini Architects
Opened in 1914, the ROM showcases natural history as well as art and culture. The museum is Canada’s largest, with nearly 1.1 million visitors last year, making it one of the ten most popular museums in North America.
Popular opinion of the Libeskind Crystal was divided from the beginning. In 2002, Libeskind (who had recently opened an expansion to the Jewish Museum in Berlin) won a commission from Toronto and said his project was inspired by crystals from the ROM’s collection. His new pentagonal wing became emblematic of the museum, but was criticized for its spatial awkwardness and cold urbanism.
Hariri’s iteration began in the front plaza, where a new ceremonial fountain was added. A new limestone ramp will take visitors from here to the new turnstiles, shaded by a reflective bronze canopy.
A sculptural staircase inserted into the central atrium will provide new connections between the modern and historic wings of the sprawling museum complex. Image courtesy Hariri Pontarini Architects
New windows cut into the crystal will increase daylight. Libeskind’s lobby, which features sloping black granite floors and little natural light, will give way to the new entry sequence. Hariri’s design called for light limestone floors and stuccoed pine trim ceilings, framed by a new bronze reception desk and several pieces from the museum’s collection.
Past a new event space will be the museum’s atrium, now known as Hennick Commons. A new skylight system will brighten the space, which will house a café and one of Hariri Studio’s showcase designs: the steel and bronze “Water Lily Staircase,” a curvilinear structure also in the museum’s wings A barrier-free connection is established between them.
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The lobby will be reconfigured, allowing visitors to view selected items from the ROM’s extensive collection before leaving the ticket counter (1); a white-painted pine slatted ceiling radiates from an oval, allowing views from the lobby to the gallery above . As part of the renewal, the sloping ground floor will also be razed (2). Image courtesy Hariri Pontarini Architects
Hariri previously completed two major changes to the ROM landscape in 2017 and 2019, which were closely related to the OpenROM work. In 2016, his team also completed the Baha’i Temple of South America in Santiago, Chile; last year, his studio beat out Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Mecanoo in the competition to redevelop the St. Lawrence Center for the Arts in Toronto.
ROM consulted with Libeskind during the development of the project, and last week he expressed support for the changes. “The ROM is a great example of civic architecture, from historic buildings to contemporary architecture,” the architects said in an emailed statement. “The renewal of the building is a collaborative and creative evolution that serves the museum’s programs and facilities. OpenROM will enhance visitors’ Crystal experience and make it shine!”
Main model of OpenROM, photographed in the studio of Hariri Pontarini Architects. Photo © Hariri Pontarini Architects
ROM Director and CEO Josh Basseches sees the renovation as part of a rethinking of the institution, in which the main-floor galleries will be free and require no admission. “This is an opportunity to really open the museum’s doors, both literally and figuratively,” he said in a statement.
Construction began this month on the approximately $96 million project, which is funded entirely by private donations, including $37 million from the Hennick Family Foundation. The museum will remain open to visitors during construction.
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