Heneghan Peng Architects wins the competition for Canadian Canoe Museum

Members of the Architect Selection Committee and the Board of Directors of the Canadian Canoe Museum has announced that architects heneghan peng architects (Dublin, Ireland) and Kearns Mancini Architects (Toronto, Ontario) have won the international competition for the new $45-million Canadian Canoe Museum to be located at the majestic site of the 1904 Peterborough Lift Lock National Historic Site.

Canadian Canoe Museum by Heneghan Peng Architects.

Dublin-based Heneghan Peng Architects was chosen over four other shortlisted proposals, Heneghan Peng's winning design "embraces aboriginal wisdom to live and build lightly on the land," says statement by Museum, by "organically" integrating an elongated glass pavilion topped with a two-acre rooftop garden alongside the Trent-Severn waterway.

According to the jury, the Heneghan Peng/Kearns Mancini team, "An elegant, serpentine glass pavilion graced by a two-acre rooftop garden has been selected as the winning design in the two-stage international competition. The design to house the world’s largest collection of canoes and kayaks presents a Canadian game changer that organically and boldly curves out from the drumlins beside the Trent-Severn waterway. Envisioned with and for the community, the museum embraces aboriginal wisdom to live and build lightly on the land."

"The Irish-Canadian design team brings to the Canadian Canoe Museum its rich experience in the design of high-profile museums and visitor centers in Toronto and around the world. Heneghan peng’s competition-winning Grand Egyptian Museum is currently being constructed in Giza, Egypt at the foot of the Pyramids. Their stunning Giant’s Causeway Visitors’ Center in Northern Ireland folds its dramatic geometry into the hill above unique basalt stone cliffs at a World Heritage Site. Kearns Mancini Architects work includes dynamic university buildings in Canada as well as the award-winning Fort York Visitor Centre, with Patkau Architects, that inserts a powerful Cor-ten steel and glass volume below the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto."

It is planned to rise on the city's 1904 Peterborough Lift Lock National Historic Site by 2020 and house the world's largest collection of canoes and kayaks.

QUICK FACTS & LINKS

The building is approximately 80,000 square feet of internal area
The design includes:

17,000 sq ft of exhibition
20,000 sq ft of high bay storage that will be accessible to the public
250 seat mult-purpose room available for events and weddings
Restaurant café, Gift shop, Toddler play area, Trent Severn Canal Exhibition, Artisanal workshops, On canal programming - winter and summer
The building will be designed to LEEDS Gold designation.

This new Museum project supports economic growth with new construction as well as creating additional employment and business opportunities along the Trent-Severn Waterway. The Canadian Canoe Museum currently provides an economic contribution to the local region in excess of $10 million annually and supports over 83 direct, indirect and induced jobs. The project has the potential to create as many as 600 direct, indirect and induced construction jobs and up to 23 additional permanent direct, indirect and induced jobs at the new Museum with its expanded programs and facilities. Altus Group cost consultants have estimated the cost to be in the range of $45 to $50 million depending on final design and start date of construction

Project Team.-

- heneghan peng Architects – Design Architect www.hparc.com

- Kearns Mancini Architects – Architect of Record www.kmai.com

- ARUP – Building Services & Structural Engineers www.arup.com

- Foggy River Farm Design – Landscape Architect www.restorativefarming.com

- Bartenbach – Lighting Design www.bartenbach.com

- Kaizen – Food Service Planning & Design www.kaizenfood.com

- Reich + Petch – Exhibit Design www.reich-petch.com

- Haley Sharpe – Exhibit Design www.haleysharpe.com

Construction works they are targeting a ground breaking for mid to late 2017 with opening 30 months later, 2020.

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Model. Canadian Canoe Museum by Heneghan Peng Architects.

The Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough. Photograph by P199.

The Peterborough Lift Lock. Photograph by Danauf.

The Peterborough Lift Lock. Photograph by Robert Taylor.

The Peterborough Lift Lock. Photograph by Mac Armstrong.

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Shih-Fu Peng, Róisín Heneghan. Heneghan Peng Architects

Heneghan Peng Architects is a studio specializing in architecture, landscape, and urban design, founded by Shih-Fu Peng (born in Taiwan in 1965) and Róisín Heneghan (born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1962). Róisín Heneghan graduated from University College Dublin, and Shih-Fu Peng from National Taiwan University, before both pursuing postgraduate studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. They met during these studies and founded their firm in New York in 1999. Two years later, in 2001, they opened an office in Dublin, which has become their main base of operations.

From its inception, Heneghan Peng has adopted an integrative approach that combines architecture, landscape, and urbanism, working closely with engineers and specialists to address each project holistically. Their work is distinguished by sensitivity to the environment, topography, and cultural context, avoiding iconic gestures and prioritizing conceptual clarity and integration with the landscape. This philosophy has allowed them to develop a versatile practice capable of tackling projects of varying scales and typologies, including master plans, bridges, landscape interventions, and institutional, educational, and cultural buildings.

The firm gained early recognition in international competitions, winning several first prizes that established its reputation. These include the commission for the Grand Egyptian Museum in 2003, the competition for the Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre in 2005, and the selection for the pedestrian bridges at the London Olympic Park in 2007. These early achievements demonstrated their ability to undertake complex, large-scale projects with a relatively small team, consolidating their global recognition.

Among their major projects are the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, currently the largest museum in the world dedicated to a single civilization; the Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre in Northern Ireland; the Central Park Bridges at the London Olympic Park in 2012; the Library and School of Architecture at the University of Greenwich in London; and the Mittelrheinbruecke in the Rhine Valley, Germany. Other notable commissions include the Palestinian Museum in Birzeit and various institutional headquarters and pedestrian bridges across Europe.

Heneghan Peng has successfully balanced large-scale projects with a detailed and contextual approach, combining technical rigour, environmental sensitivity, and architectural vision. Their trajectory demonstrates that global excellence can emerge from small practices, provided there is conceptual clarity, commitment to the context, and respect for local culture. The firm represents a model of contemporary architectural practice that integrates research, design, and multidisciplinary collaboration, establishing itself as an international reference in architecture that is attentive to landscape and context.