News
When Museum Planning Leads to Excellence
The director of the Natural History Museum of Utah, Sarah B. George has received the prestigious Building Museums “Buildy” Award in recognition of her exemplary accomplishments leading the Museum through the challenging process of creating new museum space. Lord Cultural Resources has provided master planning and business planning with a focus on the Museum's expansion plan and the visitor experience since 1994. Congratulations to Dr. Sarah B. George!
Image: The Natural History Museum of Utah’s new building, The Rio Tinto Center; newsdesk.nhmu.utah.edu.
Canadian Museum for Human Rights
The Canadian Museum for Human Rights' "Tower of Hope" was lit in December 2012 for the first time revealing a beautiful panorama of Winnipeg and St. Boniface, MB.
Image by Aaron Cohen, Canadian Museum for Human Rights
Thunder Bay’s Revitalized Waterfront: An Importance of Aboriginal Design
Ryan Gorrie, an Ojibway architecture graduate, has created a bentwood Gathering Circle structure on Thunder Bay's waterfront, a beautiful expression of native design. There hasn't been a civic place-making honouring aboriginal culture in northwestern Ontario, but the recent waterfront redevelopment project honours the local aboriginal wish to create an "inclusive circle" between all people and nature. It offers a magnetic and meditative use of waterfront while declaring that aboriginal culture matters. Read The Globe and Mail article here.
International Design Competition Seeks Bold Ideas that Reimagine Mumbai's Kala Nagar Traffic Junction
As part of the program for the BMW Guggenheim Lab Mumbai, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in collaboration with Mumbai Environmental Social Network (MESN) launched "Rethinking Kala Nagar Traffic Junction," an international search for innovative proposals to redesign one of Mumbai's busiest transportation hubs. The competition was administered by Lord Cultural Resources. The Kala Nagar traffic junction connects Island City to Mumbai's western suburbs through five main traffic arteries. It has one of the city's highest traffic volumes, with about 60,000 passengers per hour, both above and below the flyover, at peak times.
The competition challenged applicants to restructure the junction's traffic flow and explore ways to refit its infrastructure with new public space and pedestrian functions. Proposals were supposed to address the junction's specific issues and unique attributes while providing ideas that could be applied to traffic junctions throughout Mumbai.
The BMW Guggenheim Lab Mumbai is open from December 9, 2012 through January 20, 2013. Presented in collaboration with the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, the Lab is located at the Museum's plaza in Byculla and multiple locations throughout the city. Through a series of free programs and citywide projects, the Lab explorse opportunities related to public space and the choices Mumbaikars make to balance individual and community needs.
Please visit bmwguggenheimlab.org for competition details and submission information.
Broad Art Museum at Michigan State opens new Zaha Hadid building
Congratulations to the Broad at MSU! The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University opened on November 10, 2012 with a public dedication ceremony, and weekend full of programs and events to welcome community members, students, faculty and supporters to the new building. During the opening festivities, nearly 6,000 people visited the museum and the newly opened museum met the campaign fundraising goal of 40 million dollars. Lord Cultural Resources was honored to be part of this incredible effort, completing the Preliminary Institutional Plan and advising on the program and building design as part of the project team led by of Zaha Hadid Architects as design architect, with Integrated Design Solutions as executive architect and Barton Malow Company as construction manager.
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Dedicated to exploring global contemporary culture and ideas through art, the Broad will serve as both an educational resource for the campus community and a cultural hub for the mid-Michigan region. The museum will present contemporary works within a historical context through access to a study collection of more than 7,500 objects, ranging from the Greek and Roman periods to modern art. The museum is named in honor of MSU alumnus Eli Broad and his wife, Edythe, longtime supporters of the university who provided the lead gift for the museum and several works of art for its collection. More information on the museum and opening events can be found on the museum’s website at www.broadmuseum.msu.edu.
Image (top): Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University designed by Zaha Hadid Architects. |
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TD Bank Group Remembrance Display Opens
TD Bank Group will unveil a Remembrance Day Display on November 1, 2012 to honour Bank employees that served in the First and Second World War. Lord Cultural Resources was engaged to provide concept development, exhibition design and project management services. This exhibit is comprised of two displays of free-standing graphics and War Memorials to be temporarily displayed at the Main Branch Location at King and Bay St. during the week leading up to and including Remembrance Day, 2012, and will be displayed each year moving forward. With only two months for design and fabrication, the Lord team delivered a design that is subtle and sophisticated yet sets a respectful tone reflective of Remembrance Day.
Image: Remembrance Day memorials on display at the TD King and Bay branch. Exhibits designed by Lord Cultural Resources.
The display is open to the public Nov 1-13, 2012.
The Art Gallery of Mississauga and Lord Cultural Resources Reveal Future Directions of the AGM
The Art Gallery of Mississauga (AGM) and Lord Cultural Resources revealed future directions of the AGM at the 25 Year Birthday Bash on October 25, 2012. The Art Gallery looks to the future as it celebrates its 25th Anniversary this year and now asks: How will the AGM become a gallery representative of the growing and dynamic City of Mississauga - the sixth largest city in Canada?
In this regard, the AGM retained Lord Cultural Resources in 2012 to conduct a Facility and Business Planning Study for the Gallery. The Study, led by Catharine Tanner, Vice President of Lord Cultural Resources, aims to address the AGM's goal to "Grow space to accommodate the long term objectives of the Gallery." Catharine Tanner presented the initial findings from Phase 1 of the Study at the Birthday Bash. Fore more details, please read the Akimbo release below. Read more...
Image: Art Gallery of Mississauga
Poetry by kids, Cello by Yo-Yo Ma, Song by Renée Fleming - What a way to launch a Cultural Plan!
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Culture Commissioner Michelle Boone chose Manuel Perez Elementary School as the place to launch the city's cultural plan on October 15, 2012. "This plan puts Culture in our neighborhoods and our schools," said the Mayor to a crowded atrium of students, artists and the public. Michelle Boone thanked more than 40,000 Chicagoans who participated in the plan. She also thanked Joy Bailey Bryant and Gail Lord and our Chicago team of consultants for helping to facilitate and prepare the Chicago Cultural Plan. Read more or listen to WBEZ91.5.
Image: Yo-Yo Ma, Renée Fleming and student poets
Download the Chicago Cultural Plan here.
EuropaCity Competition Exhibition in Paris
Lordculture is the curator of the exhibition EuropaCity 2012, Function(s) and Territorie(s) at Maison de l’Architecture en Ile-de-France, September 20 at 6 pm. Four teams of architects - BIG, Snohetta, Manuelle Gautrand, Valode & Pistre - were invited to reflect for eight months on the urban integration of the mixed-use development in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris. The exhibition presents their architectural vision before the selection of the winning team. EuropaCity is a mixed-use complex of retail, leisure and culture envisioned as a European creative hub and laboratory for tomorrow's lifestyles, cultures and buying practices.
The exhibition is open September 20 to October 27, Monday to Saturday, 10 am to 7 pm.
Image: BIG
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| Image: Valode & Pistre | Image: Snohetta | Image: Manuelle Gautrand |
Check out our Facebook Page for more images of the exhibition!
The Africville Museum Opens Exhibits
The Africville Heritage Trust held a ceremony to open the exhibits of the Africville Museum on July 28, 2012. Lord Cultural Resources provided concept development, interpretive strategy, exhibition design and exhibit project management services for this exhibit.
We have worked on the Africville project since 2006. In collaboration with A.L. Arbic Consulting and WHW Architects of Halifax, we provided concept development for the Africville Interpretive Centre to be located on the original site of the community. Subsequently, we provided the interpretive strategy and design exhibitions for the interior of a reconstructed Seaview African United Baptist Church, a full interpretive plan, a complete content package and design drawings ready for fabrication and installation, and also completed an implementation strategy for the run-up to opening day. In 2011 we provided project management services for the tendering, fabrication and installation of the exhibits. The first phase of the Africville Museum opened in the reconstructed Seaview African United Baptist Church in February 2012. Congratulations to The Africville Heritage Trust!
Photo: The Africville Museum exhibit opens in Nova Scotia
Grand Opening of Niagara Falls History Museum
The Grand Opening of the renovated and expanded Niagara Falls History Museum (formerly Lundy’s Lane Historical Museum) took place on July 21-22, 2012 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Congratulations to the Museum on the successful opening!
Lord Cultural Resources worked on this project from 2009 through 2011 as subs to Moriyama & Teshima Architects. Our Facilities Planning team was involved in the architectural design process—reviewing schematic design drawings, and providing building systems and standards. Our Exhibitions & Events team along with WeatherstonBruer Associates worked with Museum staff to develop the interpretive plan, content, and exhibition design of two permanent collection exhibitions—one on the War of 1812 with a focus on events in the Niagara Region, and another on the community history of Niagara Falls.
Photo: Grand Opening of the Niagara Falls History Museum
The National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library Reopened
Congratulation to the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library on the opening of their renovated building in July 2012! In June 2008, the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library (NCSML) was dealt a devastating blow by unprecedented flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which subsequently brought a major expansion and relocation. Lord Cultural Resources has worked on the permanent exhibition, which will open next year. For more information, please go here.
Photo: Opening of the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library in Cedar Rapids, IA. Photo by Erich Zuern, Xibitz.
City of Chicago Launches 2012 Cultural Plan Initiative with Lord Cultural Resources as Lead Consultant
The Lord Cultural Resources team is pleased to be leading the development of the 2012 Chicago Cultural Plan to set the vision for culture in the City of Chicago. The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events along with partner Lord Cultural Resources sought input from Chicago's residents, cultural organizations, neighborhood groups as well as the private and philanthropic sectors. The summary of the public engagement findings may be found here.
The DRAFT Chicago Cultural Plan 2012 is now available for public review. There are two documents that together make up the DRAFT Plan: the Cultural Plan and the Supplemental Materials. See the DRAFT Chicago Cultural Plan here. Read the Plan and let us know your thoughts at the Lord Cultural Resources led Town Hall meetings throughout Chicago July 24-July 31. The Cultural Plan remains a draft through the end of the summer, when we will be incorporating your feedback into a finalized version, to be released in the Fall 2012.The Cultural Plan is generating media coverage in various publications. Read the articles in
Chicago Tribune and MEDILL Reports Chicago as well as the latest coverage: Video: The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and Lord Cultural Resources are seeking input from Chicago's residents, cultural organizations, neighborhood groups as well as the private and philanthropic sectors. |
Lord Creates Innovative Climate Change Game for Rio+20 Summit. Play Now!
Thousands of delegates and online registrants worldwide will be participating in the Forward+50 game on sustainable development during the UN’s Rio+20 Summit in Brazil, June 15-21. Created by Lord Cultural Resources with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and AXA Group, the innovative, crowd-sourced game is a city-wide event played at four interactive stations throughout Rio de Janeiro that actively demonstrates to the public how their choices today will impact the city in 50 years. During the week of the conference, it can be played on-site or on-line at www.forwardplus50.com.
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Video: Laure Confavreux Colliex, Executive Vice President, Lord Cultural Resources, speaks at Forward+50 Rio Launch. Rio Forward+50 is the first urban social serious game to challenge individuals to consider the big picture on sustainable development.
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Beyond the Building – Museums in the 21st Century Exhibit
"Beyond the Building: Museums in the 21st Century" is the third in a trilogy of traveling exhibitions that explores museums and the built form. As cities witness exponential growth both in size and number, cultural change has never been greater, including the growth and transformation of museums.
This exhibition, curated by Suzanne Greub of Art Centre Basel with Associate Curator Gail Lord, goes further than just architecture and individual museums. It examines museum projects as the starting point for the re-use and revitalization of former industrial zones. No longer are museums conceived as stand-alone buildings but rather as clusters, campuses or key elements of cultural districts.
Photo: National Museum of African Amercian History and Culture, Washington, DC. Image courtesy of Freelon Adjaye Bond / SmithGroup.
Eighteen museum projects from around the world will be featured in the exhibition and will include large scale models, drawings, photographs and multimedia presentations. "Beyond the Building: Museums in the 21st Century" is scheduled to travel from September 2012 onwards through to 2017.
To read more, please visit www.artcentrebasel.com. For the exhibit brochure, please click here.
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Photo: The ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. Image courtesy of Moshe Safdie and Associates. |
Photo: King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Image courtesy of Snohetta. |
Photo: National Museum of Qatar, Doha. |
The 2012 Children’s Museum Award
Amsterdam's Tropenmuseum Junior was announced a winner of the 2012 Children’s Museum Award on March 21, 2012 in Bologna, Italy. The Children’s Museum Award has been established by the European Museum Academy and Hands On! International for the recognition of excellence in the specific sector of international children’s museums. This Prize is an important step to gaining recognition for the quality of children's museums in Europe. Congratulations!
Click here for more information.
Chinese Museums Association and Lord Cultural Resources Host 2012 Museum Leadership Seminar
Under the auspices of the MOU on Strategic Cooperation for Chinese Museums signed in October 2011, a strategic leadership conference was held in Suzhou, China from 4 to 7 March 2012. More than 40 Senior Museum Adminstrators from across China as well as Lord Cultural Resources participated in this important event. This important high-level seminar is the first collaboration based on the CMA/Lord MOU — a three year agreement for the two organizations to collaborate on museum study and professional standards, and realize information and resource sharing and to undertake specific cooperative initiatives.
See the press release and the presentations delivered by International Speakers.
Miami Science Museum Breaks Ground
The $275 million Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science began construction February 24, 2012 in downtown Miami, joining the Miami Art Museum, which is already being built next door. Suffolk Construction Co. is managing the science museum project, which will take 27 months to complete.
Designed by Grimshaw Architects, the 250,000-square-foot Frost Museum of Science complex will leverage energy from water, sun, wind and museum visitors to power exhibits. It will feature a 600,000-gallon aquarium facility, a full-dome 3-D planetarium, hands-on exhibits, two additional wings of exhibition space, classrooms and cafes. The museum will also be available for use as a rentable event space. The groundbreaking event was commemorated February 24 with speeches, students and a band, which performed on the dirt that would eventually become a state of the art museum. For more information, visit www.miamisci.org. Congratulations!
Photo: Grimshaw Architects.
A Liberation War Museum Project in Bangladesh Marks the 50th Country for Lord
Lord Cultural Resources is conducting facility review and concept and interpretation strategy for the Liberation War Museum in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bangladesh is the 50th country in which Lord Cultural Resources has been engaged on a cultural project. We are having an amazing experience working with the Liberation War Museum. On the occasion of the Language Day, established on February 21 in recognition of Bangladesh's struggle in proclaiming Bengali as their national language, the Lord team visited the Language Martyrs memorial and paid our respects in the form of a wreath. The Bengali Language Movement was a political effort in Bangladesh (then known as East Pakistan), advocating the recognition of the Bengali language as an official language of Pakistan. It had a major cultural impact on Bengali society and subsequently led to creation of the state of Bangladesh.
Maki & Associates with Opolis Selected for the new Bihar Museum in Patna, India
Lord Cultural Resources will be working along with the Department of Art, Culture and Youth (DACY) and the Building Construction Department (BCD) of the Government of Bihar in developing a new iconic museum in Patna, the capital of the State of Bihar, India. We are also the master planning consultants for this project. Patna stands on the site of Paliputra , which was famous as the capital of India’s ancient Magadhan Empire. The new Bihar Museum will focus on the contributions made during the Magdhan Empire and throughout the historic period to the evolution of history and civilization in Bihar, the Indian subcontinent and throughout Asia.
Photo: Image from the collection of the existing Patna Museum: Tara. Photo by Lord Cultural Resources.
This project is published on www.e-architect.co.uk.
The architecture selection process undertaken by the BCD on behalf of DACY and directed by Lord Cultural Resources has produced a winner for designing the new Bihar Museum in Patna - Maki & Associates of Japan along with their partner Opolis. The winner was selected from design proposals presented by five world-leading shortlisted architectural firms each with their Indian architect partner firms.
Click here for the press release and more details on the winning design.
Winning design by Maki and Associates of Japan and their Indian partner Opolis. Photo by Maki & Associates + Opolis.
Ted Silberberg Featured in the CBC News' Article
Ted Silberberg, Senior Principal, Market and Financial Planning, Lord Cultural Resources, was featured in an article on a new museum in Windsor, Ontario, by CBC News on November 4, 2011. Our firm is conducting a feasibility study for a new museum in the city. Read the article here.
Conversation on Cultural Change
| Barry and Gail Lord, Tom Finkelpearl, Deborah Fisher and Ernesto Pujol engaged in a stimulating conversation on cultural change, based on the book Artists, Patrons and the Public: Why Culture Changes by Gail and Barry Lord on October 27, 2011 at MagnanMetz Gallery in New York. Host Dara Metz, Director, MagnanMetz Gallery, welcomed guests and Amy Kaufman, Managing Director US, Lord Cultural Resources, introduced speakers and moderated conversation. Video: This is part 1 of 7. To see all seven parts, please visit LordCultural on You Tube. |
Niagara Falls History Museum, grand opening July 2012
| The project envisions the renovation and expansion of the existing Museum building to create a War of 1812 Visitor Centre on the Lundy’s Lane Battlefield and better preserve and interpret the City of Niagara Falls’ unique identity to both residents and visitors. As part of the project team of Moriyama & Teshima Architects, Lord Cultural Resources was engaged to provide Facility Planning services for the design process including review of schematic design drawings, provide building systems and standards input and to work with staff to develop the Interpretive Plan. The expanded Museum and new exhibits will open to coincide with the Bi-Centennial of the War of 1812. For more information, click here. Video: Niagara Falls History Museum, grand opening July 2012, promotional video. |
Chinese Museums Association Signs Memorandum of Understanding with International Museum Consultants Lord Cultural Resources on Strategic Cooperation in Museums of China
On October 19, 2011 in Beijing, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Chinese Museums Association and international Museum Consultants Lord Cultural Resources.
Mr. Song Xinchao, President of the Chinese Museums Association, and Deputy Director-General, State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said: "China Museums Association should extend its role of guidance and coordination in order to promote the administrative management and academic research of Chinese museums. In response to the strategy on cultural development, we should energetically serve for the scientific development of Chinese museums."
Ms. Gail Dexter Lord, Co-President, Lord Cultural Resources, said: "This is a historic moment for our international company. We are very honoured to be collaborating with the Chinese Museums Association in creating opportunities to facilitate the development of the museum field in the People’s Republic of China."
The Memorandum of Understanding provides an opportunity for the two organizations to collaborate for a three-year period on museum study and professional standards, and realize information and resource sharing, including training opportunities related to museum operation and a wide variety of related topics, including, among others:
The Chinese Museums Association is the officially authorized non-profit organization to liaise with museums in the People’s Republic of China. The Association provides related services and promotes professional activities as well as international exchange programs, aims to supervise museum professional self-discipline and promote museum professional development.
For the PDF version, click here. For the original press release in Chinese, click here.
Photo: Official Signing of Memorandum of Understanding, October 19, 2011, by Mr. Song Xinchao and Ms. Gail Dexter Lord.
Maria Fernandez Sabau Speaks at TEDx conference in Cambodia
Maria Fernandez Sabau, Managing Director of Lordcultura in Spain, spoke at the TEDxPhnomPenh conference in PhnomPenh, Cambodia on October 15, 2011. Maria specialises in the management of cultural institutions, and especially strategic planning, policy development and concept definition of new infrastructures. She is a great believer in creative thinking as the most valuable asset for individuals in contemporary societies. With a background in political science and business administration, she founded the cultural consultancy Lordcultura over 10 years ago; her interest in how the cultural sector can be a driver for development took her to Cambodia at the beginning of 2011.
Photo: Maria Fernandez Sabau
Delegation from Aruba Visits Lord Cultural Resources
Lord Cultural Resources in Toronto hosted delegation from Aruba on October 25, 2011 with Mrs. Michelle Hooyboer-Winklaar, Minister of Economic Affairs, Social Affairs and Culture for Aruba and Mr. Arie Plieger, Deputy Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Toronto. Lord Cultural Resources provided turnkey exhibition development service for the new National Archaeological Museum Aruba that opened in July 2009.
Photo from the left: Jacqueline Baptist, Vice President for Marketing and Communications, Toronto Board of Trade; Clair Hopkinson, Executive Director, Toronto Arts Board; Ms. Esther Willems, Advisor of the Ministry of Economic Affairs; Ms. Alice van Romondt, Chief of Staff of the Minister and Advisor, Cultural Affairs; Maria Piacente, VP, Lord Cultural Resources; Mrs. Michelle Hooyboer-Winklaar, Minister of Economic Affairs, Social Affairs and Culture for Aruba; Yvonne Tang, Director, Exhibitions and Events, Lord Cultural Resources; Karen Carter, Executive Director, Heritage Toronto; Mr. Arie Plieger, Deputy Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Toronto.
Apply for Children's Museum Award
The first edition of the Children's Museum Award has been launched by Hands On! International (HO!I) in co-operation with the European Museum Academy (EMA). This new Award will be given to the best practice of an exhibition or project dedicated to children under 14 years old in the recognition of excellence. Applications are welcomed from children’s museums and from education, children and youth departments in museums and science museums, both long-established and recently opened.
We are honoured that Gail Lord, Co-President, Lord Cultural Resources, and Claudia Haas, Preferred Partner, are jury members of the first edition of the Children's Museum Award. "Hands-On Europe has been in the forefront of promoting children's creativity since its inception. This Prize is an important step also to gaining recognition for the quality of children's museums in Europe" commented Gail Lord, Co-President, Lord Cultural Resources.
The first Children’s Museum Award ceremony will take place on March 21, 2012 in Bologna, Italy. The closing date for applications is October 31, 2011. The application form is available on the websites of EMA and HO!I To download the application form, you can also click here.
For further information visit www.europeanmuseumacademy.eu and www.hands-on-europe.net.
To apply, click here
Chris Lorway Appointed to Toronto's Mayor's Task Force - Arts and Theatres
Chris Lorway, Director, Festivals and Performing Arts, Lord Cultural Resources, was appointed to Mayor's Task Force - Arts and Theatres on September 30, 2011. The task force was created by Toronto Mayor Rob Ford to help determine the future of city-owned theatres and the city's role in supporting them and to provide advice on an efficient restructuring of the arts grant program and that it meets the city's need for fiscal responsibility, and the arts community's need for concise and consistent funding structures it can leverage to support the city's economic development goals.
National September 11 Memorial Opens
Soon after the terrible events of September 11, 2001, plans to memorialize victims, survivors and first responders began to take shape. Initially led by the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. and later overseen by the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center Foundation, Inc., the effort to plan and design what would become the National September 11 Memorial & Museum – a place of memory, unity and great dignity – was a complex and challenging undertaking representing a far-sighted vision realized with enormous sensitivity.
Lord Cultural Resources is proud and honored to have participated in the planning effort for the Memorial & Museum. The official dedication of the Memorial on September 11, 2011 is a significant milestone. We look forward to the opening of the Museum in 2012.
For details, visit the Memorial & Museum website at www.911memorial.org.
Photo: Squared Design Lab. Courtesy: National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
Lord Cultural Resources' Project Wins the 2011 Azure People’s Choice Award
Our project, the Ontario House at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, won the 2011 Azure People’s Choice Award for "Architecture – Temporary and Demonstration". The Pavilion has been designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects (Canada). Winning projects will be presented by Harbourfront Centre in Toronto from June 18 to September 25.
QR Codes Offer Guided Tour of New Canadian Museum for Human Rights
You can now take a self-guided tour of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights construction site in Winnipeg, MB with your smart phone or a blackberry with the QR code reader application. "Just click a photo of one of five Quick Response (QR) code signs attached to the fence around the massive site at The Forks and you can hear what workers are building on the other side. The five QR code stations outside the museum's work site provide an explanation of its design and architect Antoine Predock's intention to create a building that swirls upwards like a cloud. Now, the 260,000-square-foot building planned to open in 2013 looks like a big plate of spaghetti, but that will change in the coming weeks as its glass exterior is attached. That work will continue through the winter. The CMHR also offers free guided group tours until Sept. 4." (by Bruce Owen, Winnipeg Free Press, August 24, 2011). You can read the full article here.
Photo: Angela Cassie uses a smartphone to read a QR code. (MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)
The King Abdulaziz Center in in Saudi Arabia launches iSpark
In July 2011, the King Abdulaziz Center Youth Master Plan iSpark summer program was successfully piloted. iSpark consisted of a one-month summer program with a total of 96 one-week courses (12 for girls and 12 for boys, ages 12 – 17) in science, technology and multimedia. Each of the section’s Saudi facilitators were trained, coached, mentored and certified by the following international entities: California Science Center, ID Tech Camp and University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts.
Under the supervision of 70 staff members from trainers, lab technicians, educators and a registration team, 1,600 students completed the iSpark program, each receiving a certificate from the King Abdulaziz Center recognizing the respective international entities. The official iSpark promotional video is now online.
Photo: One of the final photographic works presented during iSpark's ceremony. iSpark established the first film-making workshops for Saudi females.
Lord Cultural Resources Plans New Museum for State of Bihar in India
The Government of Bihar has contracted Lord Cultural Resources to develop the Master Plan for a world-class museum in Patna on the evolution of history and culture in the Indian Subcontinent. We will also work on the implementation of the design of the building and exhibitions to ensure synergy in the vision for this new iconic museum.
Click here for press relase and here for the recent media coverage.
Photo: C. Lalsota (left), Principal Secretary of Art, Culture and Youth Affairs hands over contract to Barry Lord, President of Lord Cultural Resources with Catharine Tanner, Lord Vice President for Facility Planning, looking on. Photograph: Nagendra Kumar Singh, courtesy The Telegraph, Calcutta.
Sawai Man Singh Town Hall project in Jaipur, India is moving ahead
The state-of-the-art interactive museum located in the Sawai Man Singh Town Hall in the City of Jaipur, India, planned by Lord Cultural Resources, will be ready in two years time. Read the article in The Times of India here.
The exhibitions will tell the story of Jaipur with a strong emphasis on the regional and historical context of Rajasthan and will include a gallery dedicated to children and families. Lord Cultural Resources was contracted to provide Museum Planning Services including Concept Development, a Facility Strategy for the historic building's adaptive re-use, an Interpretive Plan (including a detailed collection's analysis), Exhibit Design, and Implementation.
Gail and Barry Lord Received the ICOM Canada's International Achievement Award 2011
On April 13, 2011, during the CMA National Conference in London, Ontario, ICOM Canada awarded Gail and Barry Lord the International Achievement Award 2011 for promoting excellence in Canadian museology on an intenational scale. ICOM Canada has recognized Lord Cultural Resources' projects as nationally and internationally significant and exceeding the current standard of practice.
View the award presentation by Sylvie Morel, President, ICOM Canada, on You Tube.
Photo: ICOM Canada’s International Achievement Award Committee with Gail and Barry Lord.
Left to right: Audrey Vermette (Canadian Museums Association), Lisa Making (Royal Tyrrell Museum), Adriana Davies, Gail Lord, Barry Lord, George Harris (Two Rivers Gallery), Sylvie Morel (President, ICOM Canada), Mary Bradshaw (Yukon Arts Centre). Absent Award Committee member: Katy Tari (Parks Canada).
Barry Lord Speaks in India
Barry Lord will speak on Cultural Tourism, Cultural Change and Museum Planning in India at Casuarina, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road in New Delhi, India on April 8, 2011 at 11:40am till 1:00pm. The event is organized by DRONAH and School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal.
For the invitation, please click here. R.S.V.P.
On April 6, 2011, Barry Lord and Batul Mehta presented to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on the requirements for a world-class museum in Patna.
Read the coverage by Indian press here.
Gail Lord appointed to a Toronto task force aimed at updating Toronto’s official Culture Plan
Gail Lord was appointed to a Toronto task force aimed at updating Toronto’s official Culture Plan on January 28, 2011. The city’s latest blue ribbon panel, called the Creative Capital Initiative has a mandate to “look for ways to enhance Toronto’s role as an international cultural centre, and recommend actions to amplify the sector’s economic and social contributions.”
To read more about this initiative, click here.
Lord Cultural Resources Winner of 2010 Design Exchange Award
On November 23, 2010, Lord Cultural Resources took Gold in the Design Exchange Interior Design – Temporary/Portable category for the Ontario Pavilion at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games project.
Category: Interior Design – Temporary or Portable
Award: Gold
Designer: Hariri Pontarini Architects
Construction Management: Ellis Don
Production, Event & Talent Management, Operations: Infinite Stage Design
Programming & Creative: Lord Cultural Resources
Construction: Nüssli
Project: Ontario Pavilion at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games
Client: Ministry of Tourism and Culture
Lord Cultural Resources in the Heart of the World’s Largest Egyptian Antiquities Museum Construction Project – Grand Egyptian Museum
Lord Cultural Resources, is pleased to announce its role in the project management of the exhibitions in the construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum within sight of the famous Old Kingdom Pyramids. Lord Cultural Resources is on the team of the joint venture between Hill International and EHAF Consulting Engineers contracted by the Ministry of Culture's Supreme Council of Antiquities of the Arab Republic of Egypt to provide project management services during the design and construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum. Lord's specific role will center on managing the tender process and construction for the exhibitions.
 Entrance Courtyard. |
 Translucent Stone Wall at Night. |
The Grand Egyptian Museum will be the largest and most important Pharaonic museum in the world, the largest museum in Egypt and one of the leading scientific, historical and archaeological study centers on the globe. The museum's twenty-first century galleries, designed by Metaphor, will be located in an iconic and distinctive building located on the edge of the desert abutting the Giza Pyramids world heritage site. The Museum, designed by Heneghan Peng Architects, will cover over 3,500 years of ancient Egyptian history and house more than 50,000 artifacts, including King Tutankhamun's famed mummy and golden burial effects. The main achievement so far is the construction of the new conservation center with a documentation unit working to create a computerized database for all the artifacts.
"Lord Cultural Resources is proud to be working on this once-in-a-lifetime project housing one of the most important collections in the world," states Barry Lord, Co-President, Lord Cultural Resources. "Our team is proud to be contributing to the implementation of the construction of the exhibitions that will tell the stories of the one of our greatest civilizations," adds Maria Piacente, Vice President, Exhibitions.
The Museum of African Diaspora (MoAD) selected "Best of San Francisco 2010 (Museum)
Did you know? - MoAD was selected Best of San Francisco 2010 (Museum). "There is nowhere else like this. Its mission and reason for being are so rare, and the execution so flawless, that the 2005 addition to the downtown museum district has become a flaming jewel in the area's already-crowded art crown" states SF Weekly.
The Museum seeks to teach visitors that Africa was the birthplace of humanity. “We start with Africa, with the premise that we are all African, which is factually correct,” explains executive director V. Denise Bradley, ’81, referring to archaeological evidence that humankind evolved on that continent. “It is empowering to learn how deep your roots go.”
Lord Cultural Resources is very proud of this achievement. It's a great success story for our planning, concept and exhibition development services.
Video Report by Content Advisory Committee to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights
| Content Advisory Committee to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights has released written and video report. Lord Cultural Resources led the Committee’s public consultation and story gathering process, and produced the Video Report for the Content Advisory Committee. Click here for complete Video Report. Click here for full Written Report. |
First International Conference of Museums in the Arab World at Balamand University, Lebanon
Barry Lord was a Keynote speaker at the First International Conference of Museums in the Arab World organized by The Arab Administrative Development Organization (ARDO) in collaboration with Balamad University and partnership with Arab ICOM. This two-day seminar held under the theme “Museums: A Way to Intercultural Communication & Social Cohesion” took place at Hussam Eddine Hariri Hall at Balamand University Campus in Lebanon on September 28 and 29, 2010. This function amalgamated the original function of museums as “boxes” where art-pieces and important historical evidences could be stored safely, and the modern essential function of a museum for education and valorization of culture, where schools and families are one way to make future adults more competent and responsible of their cultural heritage and the only real and permanent way museums have to survive and to reach their mission of promotion of culture and intercultural communication.
This event was the first of its kind in the Arab region to raise this issue in a seminar and discuss an important cultural and educational related topic and its impacts at the social and development levels. It also opened a platform for all museum workers and managers to network and exchange information and experiences on museums in the Arab world and other neighbouring countries. This event hosted a big number of concerned bodies and individuals: presidents and artistic directors of local, regional and international museums; curators; museum professionals, museum personnel and authorities, and antiquities organizations.
For the speech, click here. For the presentation, click here.
G-8 and G-20 Summits International Media Centre, Toronto, Ontario
| The Government of Canada selected Lord Cultural Resources to design, build and manage a series of engaging, interactive, technologically-enhanced and story-driven exhibits for the International Media Centre in Toronto for the 2010 Muskoka G-8 Summit and the Toronto G-20 Summit. Lord Vice President Maria Piacente is leading a team of specialist firms that includes Hariri Pontarini Architects (design), Infinite Stage Design (lighting, A/V, and operations support), Astound Group (fabrication), and Nüssli Canada (event logistics). Lord Cultural Resources is responsible for overall project management, exhibit design, as well as event programming and operations management. | |
| Check out Lord Cultural Resources' latest project - G8 and G20 Summits International Media Centre in Toronto! | |
Symposium of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund, Kingston, Ontario
Lord Cultural Resources is honoured to have facilitated the first Symposium of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund (CFWWIRF), held in Kingston, Ontario from 17-20, June 2010. The Fund was established in 2008 by the Government of Canada in consultation with the Ukrainian Canadian community's representatives to recognize the Government’s internment operations from 1914 to 1920. An Endowment Council, including several of the affected ethnocultural communities, was established at that time.
The Symposium, organized by the CFWWIRF Endowment Council, brought together artists, community stakeholders, descendants, and cultural professionals to devise initiatives that will commemorate the victims of Canada’s first national internment operations, and to educate the public about the internment and its importance to our national narrative as Canadians. The Symposium was a great success and resulted in many unique ideas for initiatives moving forward. Lord Cultural Resources has produced a report of the outcomes of the Symposium as well as recommendations for next steps. The final report will be included as part of the CFWWIRF 2011 Annual Report and is available for download here.
For further information, visit the CFWWIRF website at www.internmentcanada.ca.
Thriving Longwood Gardens Seeks Global Standing
Longwood Gardens, located in southeastern Pennsylvania, is earning international recognition as one of the great gardens of the world. Lord Cultural Resources' New York and Toronto offices are delighted to be working with Director Paul Redman and his talented staff as they create and curate Longwood's future. Longwood Gardens was featured in the annual Museums Special Section of The New York Times on March 18, 2010.
Read the full article here.
Photo by L. Albee/Longwood Gardens.
FRAGRANT TOUCH Orchids adorn the entrance to the music room in Longwood’s Conservatory Exhibition Hall, where a perfume exhibit is planned.
Ontario House at Canada's 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Vancouver, British Columbia
Lord Cultural Resources, along with a team of leading Ontarian firms led by general contractor EllisDon, was selected by Ontario's Ministry of Tourism to design, build and manage Ontario House at Canada's 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Lord Cultural Resources helped with the Creative and Program Development for Ontario House's dynamic presence!
Ontario House opened to the public on February 12, 2010 at 10 am and runs to the closing of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games on March 1st at 2 am. Ontario House sets a new standard in creativity and innovation with exciting and original exhibits, events and performances, showcasing made-in-Ontario products and services, and state-of-the-art technologies.
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| Photo courtesy of Hariri Pontarini Architects - © 2010 Andrew Doran Photography | Check out InteraXon's Bright Ideas attraction that lets you use your brain waves to turn on the lights at the CN tower! |
Story of Africville, Halifax, Nova Scotia
The first documentary evidence for the settlement of Africville by African-Nova Scotians dates from the 1840s. Between that time and the forced re-location of the community in the 1960s, Africville developed a strong community spirit and sense of identity. In the 1960s, approximately 400 people were resettled, compromising over 80 families who made Africville their home. Although some considered Africville a slum, it was a close and vibrant community, and the removal of residents, leveling of homes, and destruction of the Seaview Baptist Church was for them a horrific and disruptive event.
In collaboration with A.L. Arbic Consulting and WHW Architects, Lord Cultural Resource provided concept development for the Africville Interpretive Centre to be located on the original site of the community. The Africville Genealogical Society (AGS) was actively lobbying and planning for the reconstruction of the Seaview Baptist Church and a new Interpretive Centre. Our work helped the AGS to determine an overall interpretive strategy for the site. The new interpretive centre will be a testament to the historical influence of African Nova Scotians in Canada's diverse cultural make-up. In 2009, our team asked back to design the exhibitions for the first phase of the project utilizing a modified version of our original interpretive strategy – the reconstruction of the Seaview African United Baptist Church. Construction will begin in 2010.
On February 24, Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly offered surviving former Africville residents an apology with an announcementof a $3-million settlement and that the site Seaview Park will be known once again as Africville. To learn more about Africville from archival footage, visit the CBC website by clicking here.
View Public Consultation Process for City of Decatur Cultural Arts Master Plan!
Lord Cultural Resources has been contracted to lead in the development of the Cultural Arts Master Plan for the City of Decatur, a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. In mid-November, the team conducted a public consultation process.
Cultural Arts Planning: City of Decatur from eLIFE Magazine on Vimeo.
Congratulations to the Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) on a successful opening! 
We are thrilled to share in the success as our firm, Lord Cultural Resources, was engaged to create the Master Plan for a new building for the Art Gallery of Alberta (formerly Edmonton Art Gallery) in 2001-2004. We commenced the process by facilitating a Staff and Board Visioning Session. Based on this vision, we formulated the Space Plan and Functional Strategy to renovate and expand the current facility on the existing site at Sir Winston Churchill Square, in Edmonton’s Arts District.
Features of the new building include a doubling of exhibition space, the new Singhmar Centre for Art Education, restaurant, gallery shop, and 150 seat theatre and direct access to the LRT.
Congratulations to the Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) on a successful opening of a new gallery and best wishes for a great first year!
For a virtual walk through a new gallery, please click here.
Photo: Robert Lemermeyer
Museums on the Move
In the November-December 2009 issue of Museum, the publication of the American Association of Museums (www.aam-us.org), the article “The Migratory Museum” by Joelle Seligson quotes Gail and Barry Lord on the rationale for museums relocating. Click here for article.
The National World War II Museum – Phase 1 of Expansion Opens
Opened on the fifty-sixth anniversary of the Allied invasion of occupied France during the Second World War, The National World War II Museum in New Orleans has become the national museum of America’s participation in World War II. The Museum’s decision to expand will provide visitors with an even more impressive experience and enable it to fulfill its mission in a more complete and comprehensive way. Phase I of the expansion, comprising a 4-D theater presentation, a re-creation of a WWII U.S.O. canteen and a high quality restaurant, opened in 2009. Architectural design is underway on Phases II and III, which will provide more exhibition galleries. Lord Cultural Resources consulted on the Concept Plan, Exhibit Design, Functional Program and Architectural Selection Advice, 2002-04. At the Grand Opening, November 6-9, of three spectacular new attractions – The Solomon Victory Theater, The Stage Door Canteen and The American Sector Restaurant – Lord Cultural Resources was graciously publicly thanked by President and CEO Nick Mueller for our work in planning the expansion for this important national museum. Visit www.nationalww2museum.org for more information.
Photo: Grand Opening Celebration - Some 350 veterans walked the red carpet at the Dedication Ceremony for The National World War II Museum's newest venues. The emotional procession included vets from the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and Merchant Marines.
For more images visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/37935745@N02/.
Fort Worth Museum of Science and History Opens
The opening of the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History’s new building on November 20, 2009, marks the completion of the latest architectural masterpiece in the city’s Cultural District. Designed by the father and son team of Ricardo and Victor Legorreta of Mexico City, the campus represents a the architectural styles of Texas and Mexico in a city that takes enormous pride in its Hispanic and Western roots in the 166,000 square-foot contemporary and colorful building. Lord Cultural Resources was engaged to prepare a Strategic Master Plan, including institutional, collections, and market analyses, planning for facilities and the visitor experience, and a business and transition plan for the expansion. This thorough strategic planning process is a fundamental step in preparing for the Museum’s expanded role in the broader Fort Worth community. Senior Principal Margaret May, with Van Romans, President and Gretchen Denny, Vice President, Community Relations of the Museum, had the opportunity to speak on the development of the Museum at the recent 2009 ASTC Annual Conference. Visit www.fortworthmuseum.org for more information.
Photo: Legoretta + Legoretta
The Schubert Club Museum Opens
Founded in 1882, The Schubert Club (TSC) is Minnesota’s oldest performing arts organization and operates the Museum of Musical Instruments. The new museum that opened in Saint Paul in November features an impressive keyboard collection ranging from a 1685 Italian harpsichord to an 1869 Streicher piano with interactive stations that allow visitors to hear the differences between the keyboards; a gallery that showcases the Museum’s collection of manuscripts from famous composers such as Mozart, Chopin and Schubert; a recital space that explores the performance history of The Schubert Club with an accompanying gallery evocative of a salon and featuring a 1830 piano once played by Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann. Additionally, there is a gallery showcasing Indonesian gamelan instruments from Java that visitors can try for themselves, and a “Musical Experimentation” room where visitors can see the bizarre musical instruments created by Arthur Ferris in the early 20th century and create music themselves through a digital composing device. In March 2009, Xibitz and Lord Cultural Resources were awarded the design-build contract for the new expanded 4,500 sq. ft museum.
Visit www.schubert.org/museum for more information.
Photo: courtesy Xibitz