438 Vancouver Art Gallery Update

VANCOUVER, CANADA, 04 November 2021 – Today, the Vancouver Art Gallery is pleased to announce it will be the recipient of a $100 million transformational gift from the Audain Foundation, to support the creation of the new Vancouver Art Gallery in downtown Vancouver. With this announcement, today the Vancouver Art Gallery is also pleased to unveil the revised massing and façade of its highly anticipated new building designed by Herzog & de Meuron.

Simon Demeuse (Partner in Charge) says: “The project for the new Vancouver Art Gallery has a civic dimension which can contribute to the life and identity of the city, in which many artists from various cultural backgrounds live and work. The symmetrically stacked building therefore calls for a textured human scaled facade which makes the tall upright structure approachable. A copper-colored woven metal facade protects the wooden soffits and structural elements below; both wood and copper are equally present and visible. The copper skin has a veil-like quality; a texture and lightness which, like traditionally woven textiles, changes its appearance depending on the vantage point of the observer and the time of the day, creating a dynamic visual experience.”

The referencing of copper in the design of the façade is the result of a dialogue with local artists, and stems from the fact that objects made of copper, often elaborately embossed, bent, and colored, carry a powerful message amongst many First Nations peoples of British Columbia.

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