The project under investigation here is a museum facility to house the full collection of historic Canadian trains currently on display at the existing Canadian Museum of Rail Travel located in Cranbrook, British Columbia. The site of the proposed museum is on a narrow strip of vacant land bordered along one edge by an operating railway yard and on the other by Highway 3/21 the major transportation route through Southern British Columbia. The intention of this siting is to allow the proposed museum to act as a backdrop to the city providing both a buffer between it and the industrial developments beyond the rail yards, as well as a reconnection of the City to the railway on which its history and development has been so dependant. The building itself is organized as two buildings (or layers) lying along side each other like rail cars on a series of tracks. The first building (entry building) houses the public activities of the museum including entry and information, gift shop, tea room/ cafe, temporary gallery, administration offices, archives, shipping/receiving and entrance to the orientation theatre. The second building (the train shed) houses the body of the collection and museum including the restored train sets and cars, elevated discussion space, orientation theatre, and restoration workshops. These two main buildings are connected by a long narrow spine which provides circulation from the entry building through the orientation theatre into the train shed and the collection itself. The spine also houses display areas and visible archives along its length which provide the passing viewer with further explanation of particular aspects of the museum's collection.

The project under investigation here is a museum facility to house the full collection of historic Canadian trains currently on display at the existing Canadian Museum of Rail Travel located in Cranbrook, British Columbia. The site of the proposed museum is on a narrow strip of vacant land bordered along one edge by an operating railway yard and on the other by Highway 3/21 the major transportation route through Southern British Columbia. The intention of this siting is to allow the proposed museum to act as a backdrop to the city providing both a buffer between it and the industrial developments beyond the rail yards, as well as a reconnection of the City to the railway on which its history and development has been so dependant. The building itself is organized as two buildings (or layers) lying along side each other like rail cars on a series of tracks. The first building (entry building) houses the public activities of the museum including entry and information, gift shop, tea room/ cafe, temporary gallery, administration offices, archives, shipping/receiving and entrance to the orientation theatre. The second building (the train shed) houses the body of the collection and museum including the restored train sets and cars, elevated discussion space, orientation theatre, and restoration workshops. These two main buildings are connected by a long narrow spine which provides circulation from the entry building through the orientation theatre into the train shed and the collection itself. The spine also houses display areas and visible archives along its length which provide the passing viewer with further explanation of particular aspects of the museum's collection. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate