At the newly reopened Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, visionary transformation is on display. That’s because one of the most powerful exhibits is the building itself. To save it, designers had to demolish it and rebuild.

Originally devised by iconic architect Arthur Erickson in the late 1960s, the museum is world famous for its indigenous art and the Great Hall.

As described by Nick Milkovich, who worked on the original building, visitors walked into the entry porch — the darker end of the facility — and moved through totems and other artifacts where light penetrated at various spots.

And then came the Great Hall which suddenly erupted into light, making it seem like walking through a forest and emerging onto a brightly lit beach.

It was a sensory symphony. It was also unsafe.

Local engineers determined that only a quarter of the necessary anti-earthquake measures were in place. When they scanned the components of the building, they also discovered the supporting columns were hollow because concrete lifting equipment 50 years ago was much more limited.

Not only that, the museum’s roof framework was made of extremely rigid diagonal beams. So in an earthquake, those linked girders would’ve fallen first, leaving nothing to brace the building. Both the columns and the beams needed reconstruction, without changing the whole nature of the structure.

So the museum was closed for 18........

© Sarnia Observer