The Gardiner Museum undertook a transformative renovation of its ground floor to enhance how visitors engage with its collections, programs, and community spaces. The project reimagined the entrance, galleries, maker space, community learning center, and retail areas to create a more accessible, connected, and immersive experience while respecting the museum’s minimalist limestone architecture.

Key challenges included integrating contemporary interventions within the existing building, improving circulation and wayfinding, and thoughtfully incorporating Indigenous perspectives across the galleries. Achieving this required close collaboration with Indigenous advisors, artists, and curators to ensure that stories, histories, and artworks were represented authentically and respectfully. The design sought to celebrate these perspectives while maintaining clear visitor circulation and a cohesive gallery experience, carefully balancing cultural storytelling with functional and aesthetic considerations.

The renovation’s material palette was carefully selected to complement the museum’s collection and support its programmatic needs. A continuous glazed ribbon wall guides visitors from the entrance to the Collections Gallery while serving as display vitrines. Finishes incorporate white oak, natural stone, and durable laminates, chosen for their warmth, tactility, and durability. Surfaces in the maker space, community learning center, and retail areas were designed to support accessibility, functionality, and display needs, reflecting the quality and craftsmanship of the museum’s ceramic collection.

Team:

Architects: Montgomery Sisam Architects, and Andrew Jones Design

Indigenous design collaborator: studio:indigenous

Photographer: Salina Kassam

Materials Used:

Millwork: Custom and refurbished by MCM 2001
Porcelain floor tile: Astra Ice, Ariostea
Interior lighting: Gregg Suspension (Grande and Media sizes), Foscarini
Interior lighting: Studio, Sistemalux
Interior lighting: Palco, iGuzzini
Interior lighting: Palco, iGuzzini
Interior finish: FENIX (Bianco Kos and Beige Arizona), Arpa Industriale
Solid surface: Modern White, Corian
Curtain: Dulce 019 fabric, Avant Garde
Column concrete micro-topping: BC+HP Charcoal micro-topping, Ideal Work