Vancouver Art Gallery scraps design for new building

The Vancouver Art Gallery says it’s scrapping the design for a new gallery and starting from scratch.

The new building is already under construction, but work was paused over the summer when costs ballooned by 50 per cent of the initial estimate.

The project was supposed to cost $400 million, but the gallery said at the time that inflation had pushed it up to $600 million.

CEO Anthony Kiendl says the VAG made the difficult decision to part ways with the esteemed Swiss architectural firm that had designed the nine-floor building made of wood and glass.

“We are grateful for our partnership with them, which has helped shape our thinking around what a museum could look like in the 21st century and provided valuable research that can be applied moving forward. However, in view of our reassessment, the Gallery Association’s Board has made the difficult decision to part ways with Herzog & de Meuron,” said Kiendl.

Kiendl says it’s clear they need to figure out a new way forward to meet both the gallery’s artistic mission and vision and its “practical needs.”

“Our goal is to create a building that embodies a diverse and inclusive artistic vision while ensuring financial sustainability within a fixed budget,” he said.

He says the Vancouver Art Gallery will hold a “series of opportunities” over the coming months to share more about the next phase of the project, and discuss with “members and communities.”