NBM Revitalization Project Proceeding
The New Brunswick Museum (NBM) is pleased to announce that it is moving forward with its facilities renewal project at its current Douglas Avenue location.
A number of factors were considered in the site selection process, through consultation with museum staff, architects and engineers, and experts in museological design. The ability to incorporate a new design with the current historical facility, which will be upgraded and preserved, led the Board of the New Brunswick Museum to conclude this represented an exceptional option for the 181-year-old institution.
“We are very satisfied with the location selection,” says NBM Board Chair Dr. Kathryn Hamer. “It is a location that is rich in historical significance. We have a plan that will avoid any impact to the nearby park, while reinvigorating the traditional home of the New Brunswick Museum on a site it has occupied for almost a century.”
“We are happy to see this important project take such a significant step to move forward,” says Donna Noade Reardon, Mayor of Saint John. “This investment in our City’s North End, the original home of the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John, will help spur additional development in the area, while maintaining links to the Uptown and Fort LaTour via Harbour Passage.”
The site has a lot to offer, according to project architects Diamond Schmitt.
“With the incredible geology and topography of Saint John, this site beautifully captures sightlines onto the confluence of the Saint John (Wolastoq) and Kennebecasis Rivers as well as Saint John Harbour and the Bay of Fundy beyond,” says Donald Schmitt, Principal of Diamond Schmitt Architects. “The building will be designed with community input, so it connects not just to the landscape, but to the people – past and present – who use it. The revitalized NBM will aim to reflect the stories and histories of the people of New Brunswick, as told by their descendants.”
Building design, planning and costing will now move forward for this location. A series of public engagement sessions are being planned around the province and will be announced in the near future.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Vanessa Burley
Duke Creative Collective
506-643-1293
vanessa@thisisduke.com
