- Hariri Pontarini Architects

for immediate release
ROM unveils Hariri Pontarini Architects’ design for
Welcome Project – Plaza and Public Realm
Toronto, Canada (March 20, 2014) - The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), which kicked off its centennial
celebrations yesterday, has unveiled the proposed design for its Welcome Project – Plaza and Public
Realm by Hariri Pontarini Architects with Landscape Architect, Claude Cormier. The Welcome Project
is part of four ROM Centennial legacy projects that will all transform how the ROM welcomes and
interacts with its visitors.
The design of this public space brings the totality of the ROM–the original 1914 building, the Daniel
Libeskind-designed Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, Philosopher’s Walk to the west, its two street frontages,
and its world-renowned collections– together in a bold and singular gesture. The revitalization of the
public promenade surrounding the ROM will enhance the pedestrian experience; whether arriving
at the Main Entrance on Bloor Street West or from the subway station on Queens Park, visitors will
be welcomed by an immersive and interactive environment even before entering the building. Using
a number of strategies, including biodiversity gardens, community gathering areas and an outdoor
performance space, the new space will function as the ROM’s first “outdoor gallery” and bring its
content to life outside the Museum’s walls.
“Our aim is to create a singular public space the city [Toronto] will treasure, which will create another
layer of attachment and engagement with the ROM,” says Siamak Hariri. “A garden is a universal
attraction that will humanize this space with its vibrant colours and beautiful fragrances, adding a
sweetness to the Museum experience.”
The project will revitalize and create green public space in the centre of Toronto, fostering greater sense
of community. In addition, the scheme will include totemic information sentinels, and a new canopy
over the Main Entrance. The biodiversity gardens will appear in episodic moments along the promenade,
featuring all-season planting to ensure diversity throughout the year. The new performance space
creates not only a meeting place, but programming opportunities that engage the community.
Preliminary work on the rest of the Welcome Project, which will include the new lobby experience to
welcome and guide visitors through the ROM, will begin shortly.
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about hariri pontarini architects
Hariri Pontarini Architects is an award-winning, full-service architectural practice supported by 70
professionals and has been recognised in over 60 awards programs including being the recipient of
the 2013 Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s Firm Award, the Governor General’s Medals in
Architecture, the International Property Awards, Canadian Architect Awards, and the Progressive
Architecture Award. Based in Toronto and founded in 1994 by Siamak Hariri and David Pontarini, the
practice has delivered a broad range of institutional, commercial and residential projects, libraries, and
academic buildings for a wide variety of clients. The practice is best known for award-winning projects
including the McKinsey & Company Headquarters in Toronto, the Schulich School of Business at York
University, which won the Governor General’s Medal, and the recently completed Richard Ivey Building
for the Ivey Business School, Western University. The practice also completed the Weston Family
Learning Centre for the Art Gallery of Ontario, which has greatly broadened the institution’s outreach
and programming, and has previously worked with the Royal Ontario Museum’s Contemporary Culture
(previously the Institute of Contemporary Culture).
about the rom
The Royal Ontario Museum is an agency of the Government of Ontario. Opened in 1914, 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. The ROM is the largest field research
institution in the country, and a world leader in research areas from biodiversity, palaeontology, and
earth sciences to archaeology, ethnology and visual culture - originating new information towards
a global understanding of historical and modern change in culture and environment. For 24-hour
information in English and French, please call 416.586.8000 or visit the ROM’s website at www.rom.
on.ca. Tickets are available online at www.rom.on.ca.
for more information, please contact:
Carol Choi - Director, Marketing and Communications
Hariri Pontarini Architects
t. 416.507.4596 e. cchoi@hp-arch.com
rom welcome project - plaza and public realm
©hariri pontarini architects
rom welcome project - plaza and public realm
©hariri pontarini architects
rom welcome project - plaza and public realm