Ecological Museum
Ottawa, ON
2015
The overall site strategy is to be as light on the site as possible due to the fragile nature of the flood plane along the Ottawa River. So, foundation ribs support a regular grid of columns that form the design basis for a set of pavilions that draw upon an Eastern Ontario cottage vernacular. For pragmatic reasons of heat distribution and accessibility, an antithetical basement space is proposed that allows for an open gallery illuminated by skylights with diffused ambient lighting. The roof canopies form a deconstructed and independent presence to the site, by sheltering terraces and walkways that connect each pavilion. They also function as heat collectors facing southward, providing energy through a district heating system. The museum as a public space forms a collection of galleries, reading rooms, and archives connected by terraces, walkways and stairs that collectively gather around an ecological community.
The topography is modulated to form an undulating variability of sunken gardens, roof top gardens and rolling hills of natural vegetation in this immense landscape made present by a museum that thematically focuses on land and animal ecology.
