Britannia Mine Museum
Client: Britannia Beach Historical Society
Location: Britannia Beach, BC
Program: Cultural. Heritage
Photography: Michael Elkan Architectural Photography
Mike Mammone conducted this project as managing principal and design architect at TRB Architecture.
This project involved complete master planning of the museum complex, phasing for existing building upgrades and various site redevelopments. It is punctuated by a new visitor centre that anchors a collection of exterior spaces, artifacts and heritage buildings of varying sizes and uses. The design of the visitor centre is rooted in the textures, materials and context of the historic site. It is meant to be interpreted as a physical link to the site’s complex and often tumultuous past reflecting the current milieu and future potential of both the museum as an institution and the mining industry.
To date the project has received a Canadian Museum Association Award for Design and a North American Copper in Architecture Award.
This project is a prime example of varied, multi-phase work on a new, historic and industrial sites that now provides a recreational and educational experience for locals and tourists. Our team’s experience at the Britannia Mine Museum in Squamish displays our long-term commitment to clients, their sites and their projects. O4A Principal Mike Mammone’s involvement in a range of projects and consulting work at BMM spans nearly 15 years. Furthermore, this work demonstrates our team’s experience assisting a client to develop a coherant site master plan, help curate a unique and lasting visitor experience across numerous attractions and exhibits, and create an architectural language to convey the history and cultural context of a unique BC facility and industry. Our work consists of both new and rehabilitated structures across the site that range in size and construction type but all reflect our team’s commitment to design excellence.
The new visitor centre’s design reflects the textures, materials and context of the historic site. It is meant to be interpreted as a physical link to the site’s complex past and a representation of the future potential of both the museum as an institution and the mining industry in general. The project involved complete master planning of the museum complex as well as phasing for existing building upgrades and various site redevelopments. The Britannia Mine National Historic Site features a number of early 20th-century wood framed heritage buildings that were carefully assessed as part of this project before conducting extensive research in order to restore them to their original splendor including a historic first aid building converted into a cafe.
