Renaissance ROM
Origin Studios worked with the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, to complete exhibit design and development for the RenaissanceROM project. Our involvement began with interpretive planning and conceptual development, and ended with detailed design.
The design language and communication strategy developed for this project was intended to serve as a bridge between the Royal Ontario Museum’s renovated heritage galleries and the new galleries located in the Libeskind-designed expansion. Our approach was to reverently emphasize the artifacts themselves, placing them at centre stage, unencumbered by lengthy interpretation or encroaching design elements. This elegant solution is both sensitive and deliberate, allowing even the most minute detail to be appreciated. The presentation style highlights the tactile and visual qualities of each object, striking a powerful balance between the didactic and aesthetic experience.
The Origin Studios team worked in collaboration with project leaders Haley Sharpe Design (Leicester, UK), as well as curatorial and conservation staff, to develop ethnographic, decorative arts and natural history displays. This project presented some exciting challenges. The physical structures that emerged from our process are versatile enough to support everything from a massive dinosaur or woolly mammoth to the tiniest Chinese carving—while the visual language is powerful enough to effectively bridge the contemporary Libeskind addition and the original 19th-century building. These significant exhibits speak to the museum’s varied audiences by fusing academic integrity, contemporary design, entertainment, and education.
Details
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON
2002 – 2006
Exhibit Space: 175,000 sq. ft.
Services
Interpretive Planning, Conceptual Development, Exhibit Design