As of this writing, the Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron still includes a new Vancouver Art Gallery on its list of projects.
“The material exploration has developed over many years from a wood clad building, to a glass log facade, to a woven copper facade,” the firm states on its website. “The current facade has been developed in close collaboration with a group of Coast Salish artists, who shared their knowledge of locally developed weaving techniques.”
However, the Vancouver Art Gallery’s CEO and executive director, Anthony Kiendl, revealed this week that his organization “has made the difficult decision to part ways with Herzog & de Meuron”.
The split comes more than 10 years after the board selected Herzog & de Meuron to design its new gallery on West Georgia Street across from the Sandman Hotel. Last summer, the gallery revealed that the cost of the project had ballooned from $400 million to $600 million.
“Following the temporary pause of on-site construction activity announced at the end of the summer, we have been reassessing the project’s direction,” Kiendl said in a statement. “Throughout this process, we have been listening to feedback from our supporters, artists, Members and stakeholders, who are helping to shape the next phase of this transformative project.
“Our goal is to create a building that embodies a diverse and inclusive artistic vision while ensuring financial sustainability within a fixed budget,” he continued. “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.”
Kiendl added that the board remains committed to “build a new cultural hub that will be the heart of our communities and serve and inspire diverse audiences”.
According to Herzog & de Meuron, the currently designed “low courtyard building is a wooden structure, made of mass timber elements that are both visible and structural”. The tower, on the other hand, “is constructed of steel trusses and outriggers connected to concrete cores”.
The firm states on its website that since it was founded in 1978, it has designed more than 600 projects in 40 countries.
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