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We all know that buildings don't always turn out like the renderings. Last-minute changes and real-life materials can all cause discrepancies between the vision and reality of a project. In our Flash Forward Friday feature, we take a look at how different projects stack up.
Currently wrapping up construction, the Royal Alberta Museum is set to open in 2018. Edmonton's newest cultural institution is likely to be among the city's most iconic, as its elegant use of architectural simplicity as designed by the Canadian-based DIALOG has provided the museum with a distinctive modern aesthetic inside and out.
Begun in 2011, the 390,000-square-foot Royal Alberta Museum was created as the new home of the city's former museum of the same name, which is dedicated to the display of artifacts related to Natural History. Faced in a mixture of stone, glass, and metal, the modern aesthetic of the new museum makes excellent use of natural light. Its place amid the local streetscape is facilitated by its manicured grounds, and various art installations that populate its base.
Viewed in the two images above, the original renderings of the museum stack up well against the completed structure. Especially when seen head-on, the finished product remains very true to the design.
Move around the corner to the side of the museum, and some major differences begin to appear. First and foremost, the discrepancies in cladding materials from stone to glass are easy to spot. The preference for stone towards the loading bay represents a major departure from the original design scheme.
Notable as well in the two related images above, the absence of any visible signage is yet another difference between the early designs and the completed structure.
Going in for a closer look, the street wall that overhangs the art installation and pedestrian walkway has undergone its own changes in regards to cladding, this time with a sizeable amount of glass taking the place of stone.
These minor aesthetic changes aside, the Royal Alberta Museum has remained more or less true to the architect's initial vision. The soon-to-open public institution and cultural attraction will more than certainly become one of Edmonton's premier destinations for tourists and locals alike.
We will return next Friday with another comparison!
