Maple Reinders has been awarded a $204 million contract for the design and construction of the Royal BC Museum Collections and Research Building in Colwood, following a competitive design-build procurement process. Total capital project costs for the building are valued at more than $270 million.

Construction on the project is set to begin in the coming months, with completion expected in 2026.

The new 5,200-square-metre (163,611 square feet) building will be an advanced, sustainable, and culturally sensitive building that will serve as a community and learning hub for the region. Once complete, the new facility will house the Royal BC Museum’s collections, research departments, learning spaces and the BC Archives. Mass timber construction will be used extensively and the building will meet CleanBC energy efficiency standards, and be LEED Gold Certified.

Key areas of the Collections and Research Building will be open to the public, facilitating community access to the collections and to museum staff. Visitors will be able to interact with displays and artifacts that shed light on the history of the province and observe researchers at work in person and online in the media centre. The BC Archives will continue to provide research access to archival records of enduring value to the province in this new, state-of-the-art environment.

“We are humbled to have been chosen to design and construct this important cultural facility,” said Reuben Scholtens, vice president of major projects at the Maple Reinders Group. “Our team is committed to delivering a world-class facility that will not only serve as a community and learning hub but will reflect and pay respect to the deep cultural connections the local Indigenous peoples have to the place where the facility will stand.  There is a vibrant and compelling story to be told and we are enthused at the prospect of being able to assist in its telling.”