Herzog & de Meuron unveils design for Vancouver Art Gallery expansion

By lifitng the bulk of the building high above ground level, the new Vancouver Art Gallery will double its display space and increase its outdoor area.

This week, the gallery unveiled Herzog & de Meuron’s design for a new museum in downtown Vancouver, reports ArchDaily. The blocky, seven-story wood and concrete structure is wider in the middle and uppermost floors.  

The shape will give the gallery 85,000 sf of exhibition space (more than twice its current size), a 350-seat auditorium, and other amenities. An open-air, 40,000-sf courtyard will be at ground level, and it will hold art displays, performances, concerts, film screenings, and collaborative programs.

The 230-foot-tall gallery will also have views of the city and North Shore Mountains.

“The urbanistic concept is based on the contrast between the low-rise framing along the street block and the taller and more sculptural building in the middle of an open and accessible garden and square,” said Jacques Herzog in a press release.  “The low-rise wooden building along the street is inspired by how the streets in Vancouver were built in earlier times. The modest, almost domestic scale will enhance the character of openness and visibility for everyone.”

Vancouver Art Gallery chose Herzog & de Meuron as its architect in April 2014. The Swiss architecture firm has designed some notable art venues over the past decade, including San Francisco’s de Young Museum in 2005 and Miami’s Perez Art Museum in 2013.

The gallery will raise $350 million (Canadian) from private and public sources for the new gallery's construction.