AEC provided Construction Management services for the new Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum and Visitor Orientation Centre. Designed by Moriyama & Teshima Architects and WalterFedy, this was the first LEED® certified museum in Canada.
Located at a historical crossroads—two transportation routes that were critical to the development of Canada and Waterloo Region—the Waterloo Region Museum serves as an entryway to Doon Heritage Village, a living village depicting life in the early 1900’s. The 45,000 SF facility will enable new arrivals to better understand the correlation between the region’s current prosperity and the spirit, entrepreneurship, and determination shown by the early settlers.
The finishes throughout the facility are complex: wood siding, limestone, glass, and metal panels are used in conjunction with one another, while the floors are made of limestone, glass, and recycled wood. Salvaged wood from a local heritage barn was used for siding of the interior of the facility which also boasts a top-of-the-line theatre with high tech projectors and audio-visual equipment, heated classroom floors, and climatized exhibit galleries
The facility enjoys energy savings of 34% compared to similar buildings, using two-thirds the amount of energy of a standard, code compliant building. AEC’s team ensured that 82% of construction waste was diverted from landfill, 18% of the construction materials contain recycled content, and 36% of the construction materials were extracted and manufactured regionally, within 800 kilometres of the project site.
Our team also simultaneously constructed a 3,350 SF expansion to the Region’s existing Curatorial Centre to accommodate an exhibit design studio, fabrication work shops, exhibit storage, and curator offices. The Centre now measures 35,000 SF and is where the Region stores and preserves its artefact collections. It was designed and constructed in 1995 to resemble some Waterloo Region barns in shape and in colour.