PLAN, PACK AND MOVE The Royal BC Museum Prepares for the Move of a Lifetime By Sandra Hudson Communications Consultant
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Preservation manager Lesley Golding examines a painting in preparation for the move to the new building.
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s the excitement builds at the Royal BC Museum for the new Collections and Research Building in Colwood, so too does the amount of preparatory work. The move teams are now engaged in the planning stage of the Plan, Pack and Move project, working toward 2024 and the relocation of collections to the incredible new 14,000square-metre facility. The museum has engaged two specialized consultants, both with a wealth of knowledge in facilities project management and moving complex organizations, to lead the process. Lyn Archdekin has more than 30 years experience as a move manager and consultant. She is currently working on the move of Calgary’s Glenbow Museum and has previously worked on moves for the Calgary Public Library and the Moose Jaw Union and High Prairie Hospitals. Local firm Spatial Logistics are the projectmanagement specialists of the move team.
Team lead Jeff Head has worked on many large moves, including consolidating all departments of the City of Red Deer from 12 buildings into 2. Also on the Spatial Logistics team is Shannon Rae, who has specialized experience in moving art pieces, gained while working for Gulf Canada and overseeing the move of their vast art collection from Denver to Calgary. Museum staff are already busy preparing for the move. Ember Lundgren, acting head of Collections Care and Conservation, has been working with the consultants on the planning phase, as well as working with staff on the huge task of preparing collections for the transfer. As with any move, the first step is to identify any items that will not be travelling. In the case of the museum, that means that collections managers are working with curators and archivists to ensure that everything in the collection (not to mention items acquired but not yet accessioned) meets the mandate of
