Museums & Visitor Centres ~ Panther Management

Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation

Lesser Slave Lake, Alberta

The Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation (BCBC) in Lesser Slave Lake, Alberta is strategically located to study neotropical migratory birds that breed in the Boreal forest. The Centre plays a vital role in avian research and education and is a destination for national and international volunteers, scientists and educators and anyone who is interested in birds and the Boreal forest.

The Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation (BCBC) is the only educational and research facility in the world strategically located to study Boreal birds on their breeding grounds. The center, which is just over 6,000 square feet in size, includes visitor reception, sales, indoor and outdoor exhibits, as well as volunteer, ecotourism and educational programs. It also provides a laboratory for bird banding, conservation programs, computer access, administrative, and accommodation space for staff, educators, volunteers and visiting scientists.

The Centre is designed to reflect bird flight by its overall shape and an inverted roofline. Rather than a peaked roof, the upturned roof and overhang is a stylized tribute to a bird’s power stroke during migration and flight. At the right angle, the BCBC literally looks ready for flight. The Centre is located in an area of Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park where services are limited or nonexistent. These facts along with a desire to design a high performance building led the partners to adopt a relatively new standard in sustainable building design.

Based on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, the Boreal Centre is designed for minimal impact on its surroundings, helping set new sustainability standards in a government building.

The LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) system awards points for “green building” construction. Points are arranged under six major categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality and Innovation and Design Process. The Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation (BCBC) is setting new sustainability standards in a government building in a number of ways including commercial grade composting toilets and waterless urinals, rainwater capture and treatment system, geothermal heat pump system and the use of sustainable building products.

Panther Constructors was hired by Alberta Parks and Protected Areas to fabricate and install the exhibits at the Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation. We worked closely with the design team to create live interactives that are not only interesting and educational but also functional and durable. We also worked with the design team to acquire the images and murals required for the exhibit and oversaw the production and installation of the images as well as various props.

Jewish Museum & Archives of BC

Vancouver, BC

The Jewish Historical Society of BC recently opened the Jewish Museum and Archives, located in the Jewish Community Center of Greater Vancouver. After years of collecting, archiving and researching, the Society had grown to a point that demanded the priceless collection of artifacts be presented to the public.

Panther Constructors was hired to manage the exhibit fabrication and installation for the museum. This was a locally inspired project spearheaded by the society chronicling the history of Jewish settlement in British Columbia; beautifully captured in conjunction with designers Aldrich Pears & Associates as well as the society members.

We worked very closely with the client to ensure that their budget was maximized and they were happy with the final product. Panther was responsible for coordinating the design team, the society’s representatives, various specialty subcontractors and internal forces. Management of this project included everything from sourcing props, setting artifacts, PFR artwork, schedule/budget management and full interior construction. The completion date was met easily, and with great passion for the project.

“Every member of the Panther team was a craftsperson. More than that, everyone was delightful to work with. I especially enjoyed working with you. You guided a complex fabrication process effectively and added wonderful suggestions to fine tune the design and components. Thank you for being so easy to work with and for being so good at your job.”

Donna Bryman, Society Spokesperson: