Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum

One of the world’s foremost education centres for paleontology, the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum rests on the ancient Pipestone Creek bonebed in Northern Alberta. The museum’s geometrically-complex exposed roof mimics a dinosaur’s skeleton – prefabricated modular timber panels are supported by angled glue-laminated beams, linked with custom computer-cut laminated plywood connection “nodes”.

Fast + Epp, in collaboration with the design-builders, Structure Craft, used Rhino and Grasshopper modelling software to simplify complex roof angles and connections. While early cost estimates for an all-wood option seemed prohibitive, engineers developed an innovative solution using layers of plywood and a CNC machine to “stamp” two-dimensional shapes into the wood. They were then laminated into unique three-dimensional forms.

The largest nodes were 1500mm tall and 2400mm wide, composed of approximately 180 CNC-cut plywood pieces. Given this complexity – and the groundbreaking nature of timber connections – engineers tested the strength and failure thresholds rigorously. Shop fabrication required extensive coordination to ensure accuracy; each individual element was required to fit seamlessly as a kit of parts when erected.

This project showcases the power of ingenuitive thinking and computer modelling; a complex engineering challenge was overcome and timber proved a sustainable and cost-effective building material.