Hamilton harbour gets new national tourist centre and a facelift

Construction is well under way on the new Canada Marine Discovery Centre in Hamilton’s harbourfront.

The building is on the site of an old industrial pier, near the national historic site of Dundurn Castle and the Royal Botanical Gardens. As well, HMCS Haida, the museum ship recently moved from Toronto, will be a close neighbour.

The 18,000 s.f./1,670 m2 interpretive centre is due to open next December. The building terminates the waterfront trail system. It sits on an 8-acre site which is being developed with a large public park and a promenade along the water’s edge.

The Discovery Centre’s interactive displays will offer “the opportunity to experience Canada’s system of national parks, national historic sites and national marine conservation areas,” according to Heritage Minister Sheila Copps. Besides galleries, it will have an auditorium and retail areas.

With Zeidler Grinnell Partnership as architects leading the project, the design team includes Halsall Associates (Shahe Sagharian) as structural engineers and Crossey Engineering (Clive Lacey and Wallace G. Eley) as mechanical and electrical engineers.

They are designing both the building and the site as models of sustainable design, and are using active and passive energy reduction systems, as well as building materials that minimize their ecological impact.

Landscape Architects are Ferris + Associates (Paul Ferris), and cost consultants are Pelican Woodcliff (Stephen Clifford).