The Royal Ontario Museum’s $211-million Renaissance ROM expansion project reaches an important milestone as the framework of one of Canada’s most complex steel structures, the Museum’s new Michael Lee-Chin Crystal building, is completed. During a Topping Off Ceremony on Tuesday, July 12, 2005, William Thorsell, ROM Director and CEO, Daniel Libeskind, leadarchitect, and Walter Koppelaar, President of Walters Inc. will sign the final major structural steel beam, already bearing the signatures of the steelworkers, construction workers, project engineers, Museum staff and volunteers, and major donors to the Renaissance ROM project.
Topping Off ceremonies are historical traditions in construction projects, celebrating the completion of the structure of a building. The signed final beam, decorated with the flags of Canada, Ontario,Renaissance ROM, Walters Inc., Vanbots Construction Corp., Local 721 Iron Workers, and an evergreen tree to mark an accident-free construction site, will be hoisted into position at a height of about 70 feet, directly over what will become the main entrance to the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal on Bloor Street West. The Crystal building is designed by renowned architect Daniel Libeskind in a joint venture with Bregman + Hamann Architects.
For further information on the ROM project, please visit www.rom.on.ca/about/history.php and click on “ROM NEWS.”