The size of the Royal Ontario Museum’s Ethnology collection had reached the limits of it’s existing storage capacity and equipment, requiring growth. Although the artifacts were housed in good environmental conditions, the collection was suffering as a result of being crowded onto predominantly open shelving units.

We were retained by the ROM to design a new storage facility for their existing and expanding Ethnology collection. Full architectural services were provided including concept design through to site review and contract administration.

The project had two components - renovation of existing storage and management facilities, including creating some new spaces such as the Sacred Services Room for Aboriginal ceremonies related to sacred objects in the collection; and designing a new collection storage system.

In order to provide sufficient facilities, we undertook to first identify the collection storage requirements and specify the new mobile collection storage equipment. The collection included a wide variety of artifacts from artwork and textiles to baskets and pottery to weapons and war canoes.

This work resulted in the ROM’s important international Ethnology Collection having a home in state-of-the-art equipment, in uncrowded conditions with room for additional growth.