Museums

The Niagara Parks Power Station project is a major adaptive reuse of a century-old hydroelectric facility, transforming it into a vibrant public destination while preserving its industrial heritage.

Following a comprehensive structural assessment in 2017, critical stabilization work was undertaken to address water infiltration and deteriorated infrastructure, ensuring the long-term safety of the building.

Phase 1 construction focused on protecting and revitalizing the 600-foot forebay and generator hall. A portion of the forebay was retained as a dramatic 100-foot water feature, illustrating the original power generation process. New program areas were introduced alongside, including retail, guest services, and future culinary spaces.

Heritage conservation guided all aspects of the project. A strategic plan identified key elements for preservation, including the original generators, governors, and exciter units—carefully restored to reflect their early 20th-century condition. Durable materials such as limestone, granite, brass, and copper were maintained to celebrate the building’s historic character.

The project brought together a large multidisciplinary team, including Niagara Parks staff and specialized trades, to successfully reimagine this iconic infrastructure as an immersive cultural and educational experience along the Niagara River.

The Kingston Pump House Museum is a demonstration of the original waterworks that served the City of Kingston in the 19^th Century.

The Pump House is located in one of Canada’s oldest original water works – where steam-powered pumps provided the first running water to Kingston residents from 1851. Only six similar preserved water pumping stations remain in North America. The assignment involved an addition to house workshops, arrival and orientation space for school groups, new accessible washrooms and office areas, as well as renovations to the existing historic building.

During excavation underground structures were discovered that were not identified in sub-surface investigations at early stages of the project. Removal of the structures and replacement with engineered backfill would have resulted in a large extra. To mitigate this, change our team mobilized on site within a few days and facilitated a meeting with between the civil contractor, the general contractor and the structural engineer to revise the footing system to avoid subsurface obstructions. By quickly addressing the issue we avoided schedule slippage.

Delay was incurred on this project due to the glazier installing curtain wall that did not match the shop drawings and specifications. Our team worked with the product manufacturers to ensure the delivered installation would still meet specified performance standards. In order to mitigate a 90-day extension to the construction schedule we instead negotiated a significant credit and applied aftermarket films to achieve the desired design. The museum was able to open on time and the overall budget was reduced.