New Vancouver Art Gallery | Proposed

[jollyburger]

Gary Mason from last year. Seems more likely they didn't factor in cost escalation while the project was stalled out which is why it jumped so much. If they are doing some scaled down project they should move it somewhere else and COV can sell the land or redevelop it with a better use.

The original budget for the project was set at $350-million, which included a $50-million endowment – the interest and dividends of which were to pay for the building’s annual upkeep. In late 2021, the budget was raised to $400-million, an amount to be covered through private donations and government contributions. With the $50-million endowment still included, that presumably leaves $350-million for construction costs.

It is no secret that construction costs in Canada and around the world have exploded. All the factors for this price escalation are well known: the pandemic (which severely affected supply chains), inflation, interest rates, and fuel-cost increases linked to the war in Ukraine.

Widespread labour shortages in the construction industry have also led to wage inflation. Many developers and contractors are desperate for workers.
Rob Wilson, a director at BTY, a construction cost consulting company, told me that hard construction fees (which exclude things like design and permits) have increased 20 to 25 per cent in Greater Vancouver in the past couple of years.

The total gallery space is estimated to be 330,000 square feet. With a construction budget of $350-million, the cost per square foot that the gallery and its architects are banking on seems incredibly low for downtown Vancouver, especially for a project as unique and complex as this one. One construction builder I spoke to says the budget could be off by $150-million or more.

Also, one must assume that some of the money budgeted for construction has already been spent on soft costs such as architects, structural engineers, geotechnical assessment of soil conditions, and building permits. In the case of a gallery, those costs can be as much as 30 per cent or more, according to one architect I spoke with.

On top of that, you have the expense of relocating artwork, which can also be pricey.

All of which is to say: There seems little chance this art gallery is going to be built for anything near what they have budgeted, especially given that some of that money has assuredly already been spent on preconstruction costs.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/...ers-new-art-gallery-is-complete-fiction/

[jollyburger]

Some things will have to go. Some have already gone, including the third underground level and the extra beyond-code parking spots that went with it. This is good for all sorts of reasons, including the fact that the site is steps from a SkyTrain station.
The building’s planned ninth storey has also been axed. The footprints for the restaurant and administrative offices have been reduced.

Other possibilities being debated include altering materials, perhaps switching out the exterior’s planned red cedar to hemlock, which is much cheaper.

There are four areas Mr. Kiendl says are sacrosanct must-haves, though: showcasing art and artists (doubling the exhibition space to 80,000 square feet); community learning (multiple classrooms are part of the design – the current site only has one); environmental responsibility (a “carbon-resilient” design); and Indigenous culture. The Coast Salish-inspired weaving pattern on the building’s exterior, designed in collaboration with First Nations artists, is a must.

“And then we have to make some really difficult decisions,” Mr. Kiendl said.

To put the project on pause would not make financial sense, Mr. Kiendl says. With cost escalation, expenses could outpace donations. He offered an example: if it takes six months to raise $20-million but construction costs have gone up by $18-million in that period, it doesn’t do the gallery much good. “That’s why truly the time is now,” he said.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/...ver-art-gallerys-plans-for-its-new-home/

[MalcolmTucker]

I bet wood goes entirely. You can have the design without wood.

[madog222]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Gary Mason from last year. Seems more likely they didn't factor in cost escalation while the project was stalled out which is why it jumped so much. If they are doing some scaled down project they should move it somewhere else and COV can sell the land or redevelop it with a better use.

This is what I’m a bit confused about. They already had redesigned the building a year ago in order to reduce costs. I suppose they didn’t have the contracts in place yet and are only now finalizing contracts after another year of rampant rising construction costs.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by madog222

This is what I’m a bit confused about. They already had redesigned the building a year ago in order to reduce costs. I suppose they didn’t have the contracts in place yet and are only now finalizing contracts after another year of rampant rising construction costs.

I find it more weird that it only got increased $50 million when the original numbers were already so old. They were talking about $300-350 million in 2013 from their cost consultant.

And there was that $50 million dollar endowment that got removed from the fundraising goal when the number jumped up to $400 million (?)

BTY Group, Vancouver Art Gallery Master Plan, Order of Magnitude Estimate and Project Benchmark Comparable, 2012

https://council.vancouver.ca/20130423/documents/rr1.pdf

[Monolith]

New Vancouver Art Gallery cost savings redesign.

[hollywoodnorth]

The proposed cost of Vancouver’s new art gallery is complete fiction
Gary Mason
National affairs columnist
Vancouver
Published March 16, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/...ers-new-art-gallery-is-complete-fiction/


good call last year Gary Mason!

[jollyburger]

The costs of steel, mechanical and electrical work are particularly high, he added. "So those are the big tickets that we can take a swing at first."

Kiendl said the gallery is looking at "creative" ways to raise funds and cut costs. One example is a garden with naming rights for sale.

"It will create jobs, it will create tax revenue," he said. "So this is not a bottomless pit. It's not even an expense. It's a net positive revenue generator for the tourist economy of British Columbia."

I wonder if they have a dollar figure where the costs escalate where they say they can't build a new building?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-art-gallery-costs-1.7309108

Just noticed they have Simon Holwill (formerly from Shape) as their new Capital Project Director along with Bruno Wall and Jon Stovell helping lead their capital planning. Hopefully that helps with some realistic projects on the construction costs going forward.

[MalcolmTucker]

"It will create jobs, it will create tax revenue," he said. "So this is not a bottomless pit. It's not even an expense. It's a net positive revenue generator for the tourist economy of British Columbia."

Oh sweet. They're trapped in their own spin. Generating economic activity is not the same as generating government revenue.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Coincidentally, $600 million is roughly the amount of money needed to make TransLink break even this year - talk about tone-deafness.

They want to talk about generating revenue? Try a permanent exhibition of the Emily Carrs and Group of Sevens we all know they've got in storage. I'd actually pay to see those.

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Coincidentally, $600 million is roughly the amount of money needed to make TransLink break even this year - talk about tone-deafness.

They want to talk about generating revenue? Try a permanent exhibition of the Emily Carrs and Group of Sevens we all know they've got in storage. I'd actually pay to see those.

I think government money earmarked over the years by the feds and province were only $200m.

[whatnext]

Sounds like a key part of the Herzog and de Meuron design might get thrown out":

Vancouver Art Gallery reassesses its grand ambitions for new building
Marsha Lederman
Includes correction
Vancouver
Published September 7, 2024
Updated September 9, 2024
For Subscribers

Developer and philanthropist Michael Audain was on vacation in Bangkok when he saw the news: The Vancouver Art Gallery was pausing construction on its new building. He was surprised and upset, but not shocked. Mr. Audain, who has pledged $100-million to the project, said he had known for some time that the gallery’s projected costs had ballooned....


....Alterations have been made and there will be more. VAG officials say they will maintain the core values of the project: significantly more exhibition and storage space; an improvement in education facilities; sustainability (carbon neutral construction and operation); and the gallery remains committed to the woven façade developed with local First Nations.

Other than that, anything goes – and anything may go.

“The building might look different; I don’t know yet,” Mr. Kiendl said. “But we’re also considering every option.”

The main aspect of the design that’s being scrutinized, says board chair Jon Stovell, are the cantilevers in the boxes-on-boxes design.

“These large floors that hang out over other floors … are driving unnecessary high costs,” Mr. Stovell said in an interview this week. “So making a building that’s behaving a little more rationally in terms of, you know, following the rules of gravity and not having these big overhung areas is probably some of the direction we’re going to go in.”

Still, he maintains that a wow factor is important for a new gallery. The building, he said, should be “a place that you want to go and look at the building, as well as the art,” he said.

“I don’t think it needs to be as exuberant as it’s been, but it still needs to be better than just a box.”...

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/b...es-its-grand-ambitions-for-new-building/

[jollyburger]

At least they are coming back to reality on the project. If it gets watered down a lot I think they should reconsider the use of that land.

[urbanight93]

It's too bad that we were so close to getting this gallery good and going and the macroeconomic environment just pulled the rug.

Also depressing that we can't find any other contributors or more funding from other levels of government given the cost escalations that are beyond anyone's power.

The new VAG will be become a legacy for the Arts in this City and should be done properly.

[djmk]

Personally, I think this idea that the building needs to be crazy structure is stupid and takes away from the actual art within the building.

one of the most important art galleries on this planet is the Tate Modern. It's just a rectangular box. If you want to have a indigenous feel to it, make it a massive long house.

[chowhou]

Originally Posted by djmk

Personally, I think this idea that the building needs to be crazy structure is stupid and takes away from the actual art within the building.

one of the most important art galleries on this planet is the Tate Modern. It's just a rectangular box. If you want to have a indigenous feel to it, make it a massive long house.

The New York MoMA is also one of the most important art galleries in the world, and it's the most nondescript building you could imagine.

[urbanight93]

yes, though none of those were purpose built. Basic functionality might suffice but you undercount the importance of a building's architecture.

Architecture adds an important layer of meaning, human experience and cultural expression and identify that elevates spaces beyond the utilitarian.

FYI it cost MoMA $450M in 2019 for an extra 165,000 sqft of gallery space.
600M for a purpose built 310,000 sqft gallery in 2026 decidedly doesn't sound too extravagant.

[Migrant_Coconut]

The MoMA had the Rockefellers behind them; ditto the Guggenheim and its namesake's foundation. Unless the Aquilinis want to get involved (if they aren't already), the VAG will probably have to compromise.

[djmk]

Originally Posted by urbanight93

yes, though none of those were purpose built. Basic functionality might suffice but you undercount the importance of a building's architecture.

Architecture adds an important layer of meaning, human experience and cultural expression and identify that elevates spaces beyond the utilitarian.

FYI it cost MoMA $450M in 2019 for an extra 165,000 sqft of gallery space.
600M for a purpose built 310,000 sqft gallery in 2026 decidedly doesn't sound too extravagant.

its $600M (and not including the land) to go from 165K sqft (Current VAG art space) to 310K sqft

If it was $600 M to go from 165 sqft to 700K sqft (like the MoMa), then I might have a different opinion.

[svlt]

To be fair you kind of have one shot to get it right for a generation or two. If you build a shoddy box you're stuck with it, whereas if you can pull off something that's at least borderline architecturally interesting that's what will represent the city for a while. I understand their stubbornness to keep as much of the design as possible in the face of escalating costs