After announcing in December that it was parting ways with Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron, the Vancouver Art Gallery Association’s Board of Trustees passed a motion on January 22 to launch the official request for proposal (RPF) process, beginning with invitations to a select group of Canadian architectural firms.
The press release did not identify the architects that have been invited to design the new gallery building, but the Vancouver Art Gallery tells STOREYS that the group consists of the following 14 firms:
- Diamond Schmitt (Vancouver)
- Formline Architecture & Urbanism (West Vancouver)
- Hariri Pontarini Architects (Toronto)
- HCMA (Vancouver)
- Henriquez Partners Architects (Vancouver)
- Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg KPMB (Toronto)
- Michael Green Architecture MGA (Vancouver)
- Office of Macfarlane Biggar OMB (Vancouver)
- Patkau Architects Inc. (Vancouver)
- Perkins+Will (Vancouver)
- Revery (Vancouver)
- Saucier+Perrotte Architectes (Montreal)
- Teeple Architects (Toronto)
- 5468796 Architecture Inc. (Winnipeg)
“This decision marks a significant milestone in our journey,” said Vancouver Art Gallery CEO & Executive Director Anthony Kiendl, referring to the decision to send out invitations. “Our goal is to create a new building that celebrates art in all its forms and is emblematic both of our country and our mission, but that also prioritizes achievability, practicality, and fiscal responsibility. Inherent in this choice is a careful assessment of how we can engage our community in meaningful ways; build within our means, and realize a new Gallery that reflects Canada’s extraordinary architectural talent.”
The New Vancouver Art Gallery
The site of the New Vancouver Art Gallery at 181 W Georgia Street, as of July 2024. / Google Maps
The Vancouver Art Gallery is currently based out of what was previously a provincial courthouse. Plans to develop a new gallery building have been in the works for over a decade now, with the aforementioned Herzog & de Meuron — who have designed numerous public buildings around the world, including the Tate Modern in London — chosen as the architect in 2014.
After much debate, 181 West Georgia Street was selected as the site of the new gallery and the initial target completion date was 2020. The architects eventually unveiled a design concept featuring several rectangular boxes of different sizes stacked atop one another, which has been revised several times along the way, most recently in Fall 2023.
The project has been unable to get off the ground as a result of funding challenges. At one point, a dispute arose between the Province and the federal government over $100 million, while the budget of the project also continued to balloon along the way, the latter of which ultimately resulted in the decision to move on from the existing design concept and architectural team.
“Following the temporary pause of on-site construction activity announced in August 2024, we have been reassessing the direction of the Vancouver Art Gallery’s new building project,” said Kiendl in an update in December. “Our goal is to create a building that embodies a diverse and inclusive artistic vision while ensuring financial sustainability within a fixed budget. We recognize that inflation has put tremendous pressure on our plans, as it has done with many capital projects following the pandemic. It has become clear that we require a new way forward to meet both our artistic mission and vision and our practical needs.”
Although many have understood the decision, it nonetheless prompted significant criticism, particularly because the three-acre 181 W Georgia Street site — also known as Larwill Park — had been serving as the site of some temporary supportive housing that was prematurely dismantled. Notably, Bob Rennie was set to give a portion of his art collection to the new gallery, but is now reconsidering it, citing the mishandling of the supportive housing.
Although the who’s who list of Vancouver architectural firms that have been invited are perhaps better known for their work with developers on prominent residential towers, they also have experience with cultural buildings. Henriquez has designed numerous commercial buildings for Westbank, Perkins&Will has designed numerous buildings for UBC, and Revery is designing the new PNE Amphitheatre.
A spokesperson for the Vancouver Art Gallery tells STOREYS that the deadline for the request for proposals is March 14.