The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) announced on Monday that it has chosen an architectural team as it reboots its campaign to construct a new building. The Vancouver-based firm Formline Architecture and Urbanism and the Toronto-based firm KPMB Architects were selected from among 14 Canadian architects that had submitted proposal for the VAG’s future site at Larwill Park, located at 181 West Georgia Street in downtown Vancouver.
The announcement comes ten months after the institution ditched its plans for a new Herzog & de Meuron design, after costs increased 50% from C$400m ($296.4m) to $600m ($444.6m). The institution had already invested around C$60m ($42m) in the project. After the starchitects’ design was scrapped, the museum also parted ways with its director and chief executive of five years Anthony Kiendl.
The VAG has outgrown its current, 165,000-sq.-ft location, a 1913 former courthouse that was renovated by Arthur Erickson and which it has occupied since 1983. The plan for a new gallery was initiated by the museum’s former director Kathleen Bartels 13 years ago.
According to a statement, the VAG expects to have a preliminary design for the new building project next year. The museum has not revealed a budget for the project, timeline for construction or expected opening date of the new building.
“The selection of Formline and KPMB to envision the new gallery is a bold and topical statement supporting Canadian innovation and excellence,” says Jon Stovell, the chair of the Gallery Association Board. “KPMB Architects brings a proven track record for creating elegant, world-class museums that centre art and community, while British Columbia-based Formline Architecture and Urbanism leads with an Indigenous design vision that is both contemporary and deeply rooted in tradition.”
Remai Modern in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, designed by Project by KPMB Architects, with Architecture49 serving as prime consultant Photo by Adrien Williams
KPMB, who have designed among other projects the Remai Modern in Saskatoon and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax, would seem to fit the mandate of Michael Audain, who had pledged C$100m ($71.7m) to the new VAG, provided the institution hire a Canadian architect for the project. In addition to national cache in these newly patriotic times, KPMP also boasts a founding partner, Bruce Kuwabara, with British Columbian roots.
“Following their release from an internment camp in British Columbia,” says Kuwabara, “my family relocated to Hamilton where I was born. Returning to the province to design the Vancouver Art Gallery is deeply meaningful for me.”
He adds: “It’s an honour to collaborate with Alfred Waugh and Formline to help shape the future of an institution that holds such profound cultural and civic significance for Vancouver and British Columbia—places that express a diversity of world views all at once.”
The First People's House at the University of Victoria, by Formline Architecture and Urbanism (formerly Alfred Waugh Architect) Photo courtesy of Formline Architecture and Urbanism
Formline’s past projects include 2018’s Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre at the University of British Columbia and 2010’s First People’s House at the University of Victoria.
“Our team is deeply honoured to receive the commission to design the new Vancouver Art Gallery, as it brings my personal journey full circle in a profound way,” says Alfred Waugh, the founder and principal of Formline. “My mother left this world too early, and during my formative years, she asked me to do something meaningful for our people—a request that has sparked my journey into architecture. Now we have been privileged with this opportunity to celebrate Vancouver’s vibrant culture while honouring the Indigenous peoples who have stewarded this land for generations and paying tribute to the beautiful mountains and lush rainforests that define our region.”
