Vancouver Art Gallery
Architect: Herzog & de Meuron
Client: Vancouver Art Gallery
Location: Vancouver
Completion: 2021

Herzog & de Meuron’s design for the Vancouver Art Gallery is a striking departure for a city of tall, slim towers, but an ongoing motif for the Swiss firm. Concept images depict wood- and glass-clad cantilevered boxes of varying sizes hovering over downtown Vancouver. Seeking to embrace both density and nature, the vertical museum—topping out at seven stories—rises from a public 40,000-square-foot garden courtyard.

The museum’s stacked expansion would create 85,000 square feet of galleries, including an admissions-free ground level and a seventh-floor terrace displaying sculptures. There are also plans for an education center, a theater, a library, as well as a cafe, bringing the new space to a grand total of 310,000 square feet. There would also be room to grow vertically in the future.

The city is leasing the land for the new building to the Vancouver Art Gallery, which would replace a parking lot several blocks east from the current museum. The estimated cost for the project—$350 million—to be achieved through a mix of private and public funding.