UBC Facilities, Vancouver

MOA Great Hall Renewal

Project Snapshot

Project Size: Renewal project
Budget: $39.90 million
Occupancy: 2024
Project Manager: UBC Facilities – Project Services

Project Summary

The Museum of Anthropology (MOA) received seismic upgrades to its Great Hall to improve its structural integrity and preserve the invaluable cultural significance and living heritage of its world-renowned Indigenous Northwest Coast collection. The project also upgraded the Great Hall skylights, lighting, roofing, window coverings, and sprinkler system.

MOA has important heritage value for UBC. The renewal team has approached the project sensitively, following conservation principles that address both the heritage values and character-defining elements of the site and the building. Feedback from the Arthur Erickson Foundation informed the architectural and construction approach to the project, ensuring the Great Hall retains the appearance of the original space to preserve its architectural character and heritage values. Engagement with the Musqueam informed the approach to the site and landscape.

The design solution for the Great Hall seismic upgrade involved the use of base isolators under the suspended main floor slab to absorb the impact of seismic activity, separating the building from the ground and from the adjoining museum structures.

All of the massive wooden carvings that reside in the Great Hall were lowered and relocated elsewhere in the museum ahead of the construction. MOA liaised with Indigenous communities and families whose cultural objects are being moved from the Great Hall. They provided input into protocols around moving and re-installing these works into the Great Hall post-construction. The safety and protection of these irreplaceable Indigenous objects was of the highest priority to MOA’s team, who ensured they were well cared for before and during construction.