New Vancouver Art Gallery | Proposed

[Coral Builder]

I Love the ROM, you must be the genius behind all that 'great' architecture in Vancouver...

[ozonemania]

Originally Posted by Coral Builder

I Love the ROM, you must be the genius behind all that 'great' architecture in Vancouver...

You may love the ROM, and many others might as well. But this type of 'starchitect' addon has been done and copied many times over. Why would a new VAG building want to be labelled as a little ROM-copycat, as it surely would be called? Personally I find Libeskind's architecture trendy.

I've never been to the ROM myself, so call my opinion purely superficial. From pictures it certainly look surreal.

[MistyMountainHop]

I'd prefer something more like Frank Gehry's AGO. Great building, but not too flashy.

[EastVanMark]

"has been done and copied many times over"...ya, its not like we suffer from that in our "architecture" here or anything.... We're all about originality here in Vancouver

[flight_from_kamakura]

the rom addition is nice but not perfect. i love the street profile and lobby treatment, but there are all sorts of problems that come up upon closer inspection - cheap materials, low ceilings, gyprock walls, etc. actually, the ago has the same problem of cheap materials, though i can see the irony there, and my issues with that one are mostly limited to how claustrophobic so much of the space feels. actually, canada isn't great for additions - can anyone think of where an addition got it right? the moshe safdi annex of the mba in montreal is a piece of shit, i just can't believe that they didn't go through with gehry's plan to renovate that baby. we'll see how the erskine and american expansion comes out. other than that, the small expansion of the agns over yonder in the halifax is the only one i can think of. we'll need to bring in a ringer, that's for sure.

the sf moma is gearing up for a big expansion for the don fischer collection, i bet the vag folks will be watching that project pretty keenly.

[LotusLand]

Pretty decent write up on the VAG that was submitted I believe to Vancity Buzz:
http://vancitybuzz.blogspot.com/2010/03/vancouver-art-gallery-relocation.html

I agree with this letter 100%

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by LotusLand

Pretty decent write up on the VAG that was submitted I believe to Vancity Buzz:
http://vancitybuzz.blogspot.com/2010/03/vancouver-art-gallery-relocation.html

I agree with this letter 100%

This letter is almost void of any substantive arguments for moving the VAG (beyond saying that the present location currently has shortcomings; that Bartels is a genius and therefore we should trust her judgment on this issue; that other cities have built new buildings for their art museums, therefore so should we; and that once the VAG moves, it will be great and we will all love it, just wait and see). It completely fails to address any of the most powerful arguments and proposals for renovating and expanding the current historic location.

Much more compelling (but, I think, ultimately unconvincing) arguments for moving the VAG have already been presented here.

[SpikePhanta]

I support the VAG getting a new building on the Georgia site, but I still think the current location is probably the best location one could get

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by SpikePhanta

I support the VAG getting a new building on the Georgia site, but I still think the current location is probably the best location one could get

That's right. And it's all about "location, location, location."

[SpongeG]

I think it would be good on georgia its not like people just "drop" in to the gallery

a museum on the robson spot would be better

[itinerant]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

I think it would be good on georgia its not like people just "drop" in to the gallery

a museum on the robson spot would be better

Actually, people DO just drop in (I do all the time). I work across the street, but I would think cost of admission, proximity, convenience, and the show would all be factors in how much location,location,location really matters.

Vancouver has a small downtown, and the lack of attendance (excepting school groups) at museums and galleries just across False Creek or out at UBC is due to the inconvenience of getting there. Any museum/gallery at Robson Square would do well... and that's just the argument to the VAG for staying put. Larwill park is great too, but the argument people may have for staying put and improving the current site isn't about how bad the new site might be, but how fantastic the current one is.

Either way, we're looking at two great locations--its a matter of how much we can spend and whether the Larwill site might do better for other purposes (anyone remember Coal Harbour project for performance halls?)

[SpongeG]

georgia is hardly a dead zone

it fits with the plan to be the "cultural" district, librrary, theatres, gallery etc.

I really don't care about the issue honestly but I think it should move to a new building elsewhere and thats my position on it

the old courthouse can return to be part of the law courts - isn't that one of the ideas since the courthouse needs the room?

[city-dweller]

Call it crazy, but I had a different idea about relocation for the VAG. As most agree, they should keep the current site. They should then expand into a few satelite sites. Kinda like VAG at Gastown and a VAG at Spanish banks west (where I would also have a restaurant and a satelitte Vancouver aquarium location) The 2 satellite sites would cycle through the VAG collection with the main site handling part of the collection and the touring exibits.

I am expecting crazy.

[itinerant]

I love the satellite gallery idea.

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

I really don't care about the issue honestly but I think it should move to a new building elsewhere and thats my position on it

the old courthouse can return to be part of the law courts - isn't that one of the ideas since the courthouse needs the room?

I totally agree!!!

[SpikePhanta]

I would like to see the Vancouver museum occupy the existing location, I always want to go to the VM, the only problem being it's location.

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

I really don't care about the issue honestly but I think it should move to a new building elsewhere and thats my position on it

Let's hope those who do not really care about the issue do not get their way.

[urbandreamer]

How about move it to Cambie and Broadway to be on the transit line to the airport. Then convert the current VAG into the BC-MoMA.

The ideal location? The block between Cambie and Yukon and Broadway and 10th, beside new subway station. No need to worry about flooding here, and with future Broadway subway line and intensification of the street, a good location, with a good view of the downtown skyline and mountains. Just down the street from city hall, and there's just 3 ugly buildings to pull down and a large surface parking lot to fill in. Perhaps 5 floors here?

[jsbertram]

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

How about move it to Cambie and Broadway to be on the transit line to the airport. Then convert the current VAG into the BC-MoMA.

The ideal location? The block between Cambie and Yukon and Broadway and 10th, beside new subway station. No need to worry about flooding here, and with future Broadway subway line and intensification of the street, a good location, with a good view of the downtown skyline and mountains. Just down the street from city hall, and there's just 3 ugly buildings to pull down and a large surface parking lot to fill in. Perhaps 5 floors here?

I'm told that block is owned by the City and will be used for the next City Hall expansions. There are already City Hall offices in the old buildings on the Broadway side of the block, and the parking is mostly (if not exclusively) for City Hall staff.

The parking lot on the south side of the block is perfect for use as the construction area and pit for the new UBC Line Skytrain station, and can later be Phase I of whatever new office/retail/housing complex the City wants to build over the new Skytrain station on that block.

[jsbertram]

Originally Posted by SpikePhanta

I support the VAG getting a new building on the Georgia site, but I still think the current location is probably the best location one could get

The location may be ideal, but the problem with the Robson Square building is that, being a former courthouse, when it was converted to the VAG, many compromises needed to be made to alter the interior of the building in such a way that the historic details were kept while at the same time creating the gallery spaces needed for the artwork already in the collection.

By starting with a new building on a new site, there are no pre-existing conditions that the new VAG has to fit in to (other than budgetary), so they and the architect (or Starchitect) can have free reign in the design they need so their collection (and future pieces) can be properly presented, preserved and stored. They can actually start with the design of the gallery spaces, office spaces, working spaces, and public spaces, and then wrap a building (or several buildings) around these spaces.