New Vancouver Art Gallery | Proposed

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Rennie is always right.

Not with his idea of a bunch of little galleries scattered willynilly around the city. You need a large destination gallery to help bring in tourists. Like I’ve said before, how many people here have been to Vancouver’s Contemporary Art Gallery or could even say where it is without checking Google?

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by Glow Fun City

I'm hoping some new theatres will eventually be incorporated into the site as well… there is a push from local arts organizations to build (Orpheum and Queen E are already booked most nights of the year):


https://www.vancouverculturalprecinct.ca/

Only problem is that they have even less support from donors/government in fundraising.

[Glow Fun City]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Only problem is that they have even less support from donors/government in fundraising.

Sadly yes… that and the VSO is a little more concerned with their musicians on strike at the moment…

[urbanight93]

I looked up the CAG location... it turns out it's across the street from the condo i own and i had no idea it existed...

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by urbanight93

I looked up the CAG location... it turns out it's across the street from the condo i own and i had no idea it existed...

That space was the Community Amenity Contribution for the Mondrian condo.

Likewise, on Richards near Robson, there's a facility called ArtStarts in space that was the contribution for that building.

****************

I the Globe & Mail today, Alex Bozikovic notes that the new VAG will be a maximum of 3 storeys and will have 200,000 sq ft, with 80,000 sq ft being exhibit space.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Glow Fun City

Sadly yes… that and the VSO is a little more concerned with their musicians on strike at the moment…

Fortunately they settled on the weekend.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by officedweller

That space was the Community Amenity Contribution for the Mondrian condo.

Likewise, on Richards near Robson, there's a facility called ArtStarts in space that was the contribution for that building.

****************

I the Globe & Mail today, Alex Bozikovic notes that the new VAG will be a maximum of 3 storeys and will have 200,000 sq ft, with 80,000 sq ft being exhibit space.

In an interview this week, the VAG’s interim co-CEOs Eva Respini and Sirish Rao said the gallery’s new facility will be approximately 200,000 square feet, with 80,000 square feet of gallery space. It will rise to a maximum of three storeys. The budget is undetermined, but the executives said a $100-million contribution from the Audain family and $40-million from the Chan family remain intact.

That combination could result in a fusion of KPMB’s orthodox modernism with Formline’s “Indigenuity,” as Waugh puts it: architecture that favours natural materials and uses them efficiently and resourcefully.

The architects echoed this theme. “Maybe there will be galleries addressing the street,” Kuwabara said. “Maybe there will be sculpture on the roof.” At the same time, the building “will try to capture the essence of Vancouver,” Waugh said, especially its natural setting. “You need to get a sense of the sky, a sense of what a rain forest is,” Waugh said. “How do you bring that into the gallery?”

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/cult...mb-indigenous/

[LeftCoaster]

I have very little faith in this new team bringing anything particularly daring or architecturally relevant to this site unfortunately.

[djmk]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

I have very little faith in this new team bringing anything particularly daring or architecturally relevant to this site unfortunately.

IMHO, the best art galleries are just big boxes with all the interesting stuff inside.

If they want to keep the indigenous theme going, build a huge longhouse. A three story longhouse made from local cedar would look amazing and contrast sharply with the other buildings around it

[LeftCoaster]

Why do that for a non-indigenous art museum though? Seems like it misses the mark, though I am getting the impression that is the direction they are going.

That said I do agree an art museums best pieces should be inside, but that doesn't mean it should be a dud.

[mcj]

Looking at Formline's previous projects, you can almost guarantee this will be some combination of cedar/wood with large windows.

Something like the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre at the base with some more storeys on top would be decent.

https://www.formline.ca/projects/squ...ltural-centre/

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by mcj

Looking at Formline's previous projects, you can almost guarantee this will be some combination of cedar/wood with large windows.

Something like the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre at the base with some more storeys on top would be decent.

https://www.formline.ca/projects/squ...ltural-centre/

For conservation reasons, you don't usually want large windows on an art gallery.

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by whatnext

For conservation reasons, you don't usually want large windows on an art gallery.

Yes, but you can still have windows. Look at the national gallery in Ottawa for example

[SpongeG]

Future home of the Vancouver Art Gallery turned back into parking lot
Gallery leader hails experience and Indigenous perspective of new architects for beleagured project

Liam Britten · CBC News · Posted: Oct 06, 2025

Asphalt artists wielding heavy machinery have been paving over the planned home of the new Vancouver Art Gallery, leading some to ask when the magnum opus of the city's cultural scene will finally rise from its concrete canvas.

For several weeks at the corner of West Georgia and Cambie, crews have been filling in the excavation work already completed on the new art gallery site, at one point set to open in 2028, but now back to the drawing board with a new architects taking over a scaled-down project.

"We're kind of starting from zero again," said Amy Nugent, executive director urban planning non-profit Urbanarium.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...ture-1.7652745

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

Yes, but you can still have windows. Look at the national gallery in Ottawa for example

Strangely, I could see a structure similar to the QE Theatre - with a portico and sheltered areas in Formline's bent wood style, together with a large 3 storey glass-fronted volume for a lobby with mezzanines that would host receptions and fundraising events.
The galleries would be buried in the bowels of the interior- maybe with a skylit atrium(s) sending natural light down the middle.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by officedweller

The galleries would be buried in the bowels of the interior- maybe with a skylit atrium(s) sending natural light down the middle.

Moshe Safdie made that work beautifully just thirty and a half years ago. For a bunch of artists, curators and starchitects, the VAG team has been surprisingly uncreative at times.

[officedweller]

There's probably some energy efficiency objection to having an atrium these days.

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Moshe Safdie made that work beautifully just thirty and a half years ago. For a bunch of artists, curators and starchitects, the VAG team has been surprisingly uncreative at times.

Sadfie also designed the National Gallery in Ottawa that osirisboy mentioned.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by officedweller

There's probably some energy efficiency objection to having an atrium these days.

Sadfie also designed the National Gallery in Ottawa that osirisboy mentioned.

One of his art gallery spaces resorted to sticking a box in a giant glass filled space to protect the artwork.



https://www.artsjournal.com/cultureg...lenge_the.html

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

One of his art gallery spaces resorted to sticking a box in a giant glass filled space to protect the artwork.

As long as they plan in advance, it can work well. The Audain in Whistler is like this, but more of a layout I think came from Japanese museums, glass hallways with galleries starting and ending off the hallways. The hallway a neutral space in between galleries.

I think sometimes boards and usually younger architects buy into a vision, and then end up with spaces that aren't as usable.

[jollyburger]

They want to open the new gallery by 2031.

I wonder if there attendance numbers are going to keep dropping by not trying to bring in big exhibitions.

“We’ve taken difficult but necessary decisions to really ensure…a sustainable tomorrow,” said Rao, adding that the gallery’s finances have now stabilized.

“We’re out of [the] worst patch but we have to be attentive, and that’s our commitment to run this as a very sustainable business.”

To reduce costs, the gallery will cut exhibitions from 12 to eight in the coming year, placing greater emphasis on local artists and its permanent collection. Starting in March, a full floor will be devoted to permanent works, including pieces by prominent B.C. artists Emily Carr and Jeff Wall.

https://www.biv.com/news/hospitality...train-11353312