WAG | Inuit Art Centre Expansion - Page 25

drew · #**481** Posted **Sep 9, 2020, 2:20 PM**

^ do it right, do it once!

I think part of the reason is this type of stone hasn't been used much in Winnipeg, and they are being extra careful with the wall assembly.

Wpg_Guy · #**482** Posted **Sep 9, 2020, 3:11 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by wags_in_the_peg

how long has this exterior being going on, 2 years? layers after layer of paper, insulation, membrane, boarding, now brick.

Haha can seem like it sometimes, but this is what it looked like exactly this time one year ago.

They started closing it in mid October.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

https://www.facebook.com/pg/wag.ca/photos/

Wpg_Guy · #**483** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 3:12 PM**

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFOFkFaBsjo/

esquire · #**484** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 4:34 PM**

^ As a standalone building it would be gorgeous. Still not quite sold on how they play off of each other, though. I kind of wish there was a cleaner break between the two.

Wigglez · #**485** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 5:49 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

^ As a standalone building it would be gorgeous. Still not quite sold on how they play off of each other, though. I kind of wish there was a cleaner break between the two.

I think a good cleaning of the original WAG would help out - that stone is looking a little dirty these days...

buzzg · #**486** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 5:55 PM**

I like how the finish is actually quite different from the WAG. I thought from the renders the stone was going to be a similar colour and was worried by trying to match it would look like a mistake or just off a bit, but really like the difference.

Really need 226 Osborne North to eventually happen, then something with the Bay Parkade and all of a sudden that "mall" is pretty beautiful. Really bugs me they redid Memorial/Colony the exact same amount of lanes and didn't add any boulevard trees or spruce it up at all.

trueviking · #**487** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 5:59 PM**

I like the new building.
I hate the desecration of the old one along the sidewalk near the entry. Unforgivable.

esquire · #**488** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 6:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzzg

Really need 226 Osborne North to eventually happen, then something with the Bay Parkade and all of a sudden that "mall" is pretty beautiful. Really bugs me they redid Memorial/Colony the exact same amount of lanes and didn't add any boulevard trees or spruce it up at all.

The Bay Parkade is the single biggest obstacle to turning The Mall into the grandiose space it was intended to be. That thing is an eyesore of the highest order.

I am also somewhat surprised that there really hasn't been any new construction on Osborne St. N. fill in the vacant lots on that stretch, or replace some of the smaller and more tired looking buildings on that stretch. It's really just the WAG Inuit Art Centre that has gone up... nothing else.

buzzg · #**489** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 6:23 PM**

The three new buildings in less than 10 years behind the WAG are pretty substantial to me. Hopefully those, plus the refresh of Colony Square, IAC, new residential on Good St, All Saints, all help turn that area around and push new development along Osborne.

esquire · #**490** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 6:29 PM**

^ Yeah, lots of stuff has been built near the Mall which is better than nothing, but nothing really on it besides the IAC. It would be nice to see at least one of those sites on Osborne N. or The Bay Parkade redeveloped...

Kris22 · #**491** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 8:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

^ As a standalone building it would be gorgeous. Still not quite sold on how they play off of each other, though. I kind of wish there was a cleaner break between the two.

Exactly my thoughts. Love both buildings, but they don't look particularly great that close together. When dealing with such close proximity, a complimentary design (sharp edges, triangles, etc) probably would have looked better, but that doesn't fit with the snow drift imagery of the Inuit art centre. I think the portion along St. Mary is going to look spectacular on its own tho.

I'm pretty excited to visit once this opens. I'm a huge fan of Inuit sculpture.

Wpg_Guy · #**492** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 9:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

^ As a standalone building it would be gorgeous. Still not quite sold on how they play off of each other, though. I kind of wish there was a cleaner break between the two.

You want density, they give us density, you complain about the density!

esquire · #**493** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 9:14 PM**

^ lol

Not quite the density I had in mind!

buzzg · #**494** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 10:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by trueviking

I like the new building.
I hate the desecration of the old one along the sidewalk near the entry. Unforgivable.

When you initially brought this up I thought “makes sense but is it really that big of a deal” that anyone other than an architect would notice.... it has made a considerable impact and it does look pretty weird. It really does mess up some of the perfect clean lines the building ha(d).

Andy6 · #**495** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 11:20 PM**

The original building is definitely the loser in all this. The new one is the sort of building that is going to look great from some angles and less so from others.

Labroco · #**496** Posted **Sep 18, 2020, 4:02 AM**

It’s unclear to me now where the entrance will be... the original building or the new structure? Or both?

The glazing adjacent to the doorway was disrespectful to the building and architect in my opinion. While they may have thought a street presence would draw people into the gift shop and gallery, I think the new Innuit centre would perhaps do that itself. The monolithic facade / slab is what people focused on historically. Glazing focusses the eye into the gift shop to the detriment of the facade. This saddened me. Notwithstanding this choice, the overall project turned out quite elegantly and I do hope many more people will join or attend the gallery and regular functions.

pspeid · #**497** Posted **Sep 18, 2020, 2:10 PM**

Taste in aesthetics are a very personal thing.Personally I like both the addition of the windows and the Inuit Art Centre, though I can understand why some folks wouldn't want to see the original concept changed. I guess it begs the question; do architects create designs for themselves or for their clients (and, by extension, the community)? After the cheques are cashed to building owners have an ethical responsibility to consult the original architects (when possible) to review their ideas? I imagine it must be very frustrating for architects to expend creative energy on a project and see it changed at some point. Then again, architecture is, for the most part, a relatively temporary expression. Unless you are talking about monumental architecture that gets preserved for archaeological/historical reasons, buildings come and go. Like sand paintings, the creation exists for a while, then it's gone forever.

esquire · #**498** Posted **Sep 18, 2020, 2:14 PM**

^ Good point.

I am generally not a fan of tinkering with buildings, particularly ones that are clearly designed to a higher level of architectural design like the WAG. But that said, I don't think the new glazing is a disaster or anything like that. It doesn't help the building's appearance and it sets a bad precedent that could invite future alterations that are much worse, but if this is all that ends up happening I can live with it even if I don't agree on principle.

bomberjet · #**499** Posted **Sep 18, 2020, 2:15 PM**

I'll await the final product. But form the angle in the photo, it jus looks like a big blob attached to the end of the original, once sleek, building.

buzzg · #**500** Posted **Sep 18, 2020, 7:10 PM**

People seem to be forgetting that it used to look like this.