A $270 million Royal BC Museum’s Collections and Research Building (CRB) that will house the BC Archives, Provincial collections and multiple research departments is expected to complete in 2026, following several years of construction at the City of Colwood’s Royal Bay community.

 

 

Utilizing mass timber technologies and constructed to high-efficiency standards, the 164,000 square foot CRB (located along Metchosin Road at the new Royal BC Museum PARC Campus [Provincial Archives, Research, and Collections]) will serve as both a centre for research and public engagement through its Royal BC Museum artifact displays and publicly accessible BC Archives collections.

 

A rendering of the RBCM's Collections and Research Building. The publicly accessible BC Archives, RBCM collections and research facility is on track to open in 2026.  Michael Green Architecture

 

According to the Province, only 1% of the Royal BC Museum’s provincial collection is displayed for public viewing at the Victoria campus at any one time, with the remainder of historically significant and natural artifacts kept in storage. The CRB initiative will change how British Columbians can experience and interact with the province’s historical records and collections, the museum’s leadership says.

 

“The provincial collections and archives help us to share the stories of our cultures and communities. It’s vital to ensure they’re kept safe for future generations,” said Tracey Drake as part of a 2023 construction start celebration, who was then the acting CEO of the Royal BC Museum, and is now the museum’s CEO. “This exceptional facility will also provide a window into the world of the museum, enabling visitors to see our palaeontologists, entomologists, botanists, zoologists and more, engaged in active research projects.”

 

 

Currently, construction firm Maple Reinders is working on exterior project elements, such as a pedestrian bridge over a wetland feature at the PARC campus. The CRB structure is primarily completed, according to construction updates, with its construction crane removed from the site last June. Construction was initially expected to get underway in 2021 with completion in 2024, but work was pushed back to a 2023 start.

 

Meanwhile, Victoria’s Royal BC Museum on Belleville Street has had a turbulent decade, with a partial closure of its displays, re-contextualized exhibits, and at least two sidelined campaigns to redevelop the campus into a modern facility. The museum is also on the search for a new CEO, its fourth in recent years. A decision to close, then following public outcry re-open, historical displays documenting BC’s history through interactive and life-size displays, marks one of the most controversial periods of the museum’s modern history. C

 

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