Going above and beyond
VANCOUVER ART GALLERY: New boxy building concept to reflect city’s ‘verticality’
The Vancouver Art Gallery proposes to build a distinctive new building on a downtown site now used as a parking lot across from the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on West Georgia.
Resting on stilt-like supports, the new building would have three floors dedicated to a restaurant and auditorium sandwiched between exhibition space above and below. The design has been described as transparent, open and inviting.
The building’s instantly recognizable form comes from the way the different levels are stacked on top of one another to create covered spaces that are protected from the rain yet still open to sun and light.
The VAG’s much-anticipated conceptual design by the Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Mueron was released Tuesday at the current gallery’s home at 750 Hornby St.
The public had a chance to see a presentation on the new design Tuesday at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
The new gallery would cover twothirds of the city-owned block. The remainder of the site along Dunsmuir is intended for future development. The new gallery could be built as early as 2021.
On Monday, Postmedia News got a sneak preview of the building with lead architect Christine Binswanger and gallery director Kathleen Bartels.
Unlike many art galleries, the new VAG rises vertically on the site rather than covering it horizontally. Resembling boxes on top of one another, the proposed design is intended to look both contemporary and totemic.
Binswanger said the design is intended to create covered outdoor spaces that are usable year-round.
“But also we wanted to go into the vertical because this a city that is all about verticality,” she said.
“You want to give the experience of being high up to the general public that visits this gallery.”
Altogether, the building would rise to 12 storeys, of which seven would be used by the public.
The transparency comes from the glass cladding on the exterior of the auditorium and restaurant in the middle section.
The design anticipates that when visitors are in the foyer and on the covered patio, they will animate those spaces and be visible to people outside.
The proposed gallery would have 86,000 square feet of exhibition space — about double the amount available at the current gallery. Of that, just under half will be dedicated to showing the permanent collection of more than 10,000 works.
Bartels said the design was meant to be approachable and accessible.
“We want it to be that gathering space that people come for not only events, but also just to hang out,” Bartels said.
A fundraising campaign is planned to raise money for the building.