Image courtesy Herzog and de Meuron and the Vancouver Art Gallery.
In an announcement on Tuesday, Vancouver Art Gallery selected maverick Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron to design its new and expanded home in downtown Vancouver.
The new museum building will be the first project in Canada for the Pritzker Prize–winning outfit. Most recently in the art world, Herzog & de Meuron have been known for their design of the Perez Art Museum in Miami, the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, and Tate Modern in London.
Four other firms were shortlisted for the Vancouver Art Gallery redesign in January, including one Canadian firm. The finalists included KPMB Architects of Toronto, Diller Scofidio + Renfro of New York, SANAA of Tokyo, and Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects of New York.
The new Vancouver Art Gallery is planned to be approximately 300,000 square feet, more than double the space of the current facility. It is to be located on what is now a parking lot at West Georgia and Cambie Streets in downtown Vancouver. The gallery plans to unveil conceptual designs for the new building in early 2015.
The Vancouver Art Gallery has received a $50-million gift from the Province of British Columbia for the project, which the Globe and Mail has estimated at $350-million total cost. In a release, the gallery said, it expects to announce early capital gifts in the coming weeks and launch the public phase of the capital campaign as the conceptual design is unveiled.
“A new, expanded Vancouver Art Gallery will build Vancouver’s creative economy and give local artists exposure to a broader audience,” Mayor Gregor Robertson said in the release. “Congratulations to Herzog & de Meuron, who will be creating this important new cultural space in our downtown.”
“We are thrilled to be working with Herzog & de Meuron and to be the first to bring their incredible talent to Canada. Our new gallery will be a vital and dynamic resource for Vancouver, one that engages and welcomes artists and visitors from the region and from around the world,” gallery director Kathleen Bartels added in the same release.
