With an air reminiscent of a proposal by Kenzo Kuma, at least in these first images, and after beating out KPMB Architects, SANAA, Tod Williams Billie Tsien and DS+R to win the project back in April of 2014, Herzog & de Meuron have now released the first look at their design for the new Vancouver Art Gallery, a significant update on the Gallery's old neoclassical building and the firm's first in Canada.

The new Gallery bulding will not only double the amount of exhibition space to over 7,897 square meter, but also relocate the institution a few blocks into a quickly-developing sector of Vancouver's downtown. The formal update is pretty extreme – the prior Gallery's columns, front steps and flanking lions bestowed a formal, traditional vibe, while Herzog & de Meuron's stack of wooden and transparent volumes is top-loaded so that "the modest, almost domestic scale will enhance the character of openness and visibility for everyone," according to Jaques Herzog in a statement.

The Conceptual Design of the new Vancouver Art Gallery

In the 85 years since its inception the Vancouver Art Gallery has grown and expanded at a considered pace, responding to the changing needs of our city, region and province; of the artists who continue to inspire us; and of the members, students, families and individuals who share our belief that art is an engaging and meaningful part of contemporary life.

In this room we present the conceptual design for the new Vancouver Art Gallery. The architectural model, videos and renderings reveal an exciting vision for the Gallery's dynamic new presence in Vancouver. The rich design offers appealing public spaces, thoughtfully integrated with a unique and compelling building which is designed to house and display the most significant public collection of art in Western Canada, and to captivate our audiences through exhibitions, education programs and public events.

Within the building design process the "concept" is the initial design idea for the building. This is a preliminary stage that is intended to describe the context for the Gallery within the city and the character and capacity of the Gallery's interior and exterior spaces. The large plinth in the centre of this room holds a model of the conceptual design for the new Vancouver Art Gallery and describes its dynamic position in the city, on a site that embodies Vancouver's rich history and is strategically situated to substantially contribute to its future growth. Three large architectural renderings provide a cogent insight into the context, the public spaces and the viewpoints that define the new Gallery's design and its place in Vancouver. Floorplans and section views offer a preliminary layout of the key spaces within the Gallery, and the videos provide a further range of images of the building and insight into the research that led to this design.

The conceptual design was conceived by Herzog & de Meuron, the design architects for the new Vancouver Art Gallery. They are internationally renowned for their innovative and elegant buildings and their contribution to the design of contemporary museums. Their focused attention to materials, surface, the existing landscape, cultural history and environmental conditions has defined a practice that is astonishingly subtle and complex. For the Vancouver Art Gallery project, Herzog & de Meuron are collaborating with Vancouver-based Perkins + Will who were selected by the Gallery in 2014 to serve as the local Architect of Record.

Cradle rooms arise in second level with separate kitchen and hoist connected to the kitchen on the first level. Like wise with connection via ramp that traverses the project, which, in turn, serves as bracing structure.

The materials were chosen based on its noble quality; resistance, economy, durability and low maintenance, the absence of coating finishes, veneers or coupled to the structure elements. Basically the outside are granted as a building structural work.

 

Venue.-750 Hornby St, Vancouver, BC V6Z 2H7, Canadá
Dates.- September 30, 2015 to January 24, 2016.

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Herzog & de Meuron is an international architecture practice founded in 1978 in Basel, Switzerland, by Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, both born in Basel in 1950. The practice's work encompasses projects of different scales and programmes, from housing and cultural buildings to hospitals, stadiums, infrastructure, and urban developments. Its architecture is characterised by an ongoing investigation into materials, construction processes, and the relationship between buildings and their context.

Jacques Herzog (Basel, Switzerland, 1950) and Pierre de Meuron (Basel, Switzerland, 1950) studied architecture between 1970 and 1975 at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zürich), where they were students of Aldo Rossi and Dolf Schnebli. Friends since childhood, they began a professional partnership that has maintained a close relationship between architectural practice, research, and teaching.

Jacques Herzog was a visiting professor at Cornell University in 1983. Both architects taught as visiting professors at Harvard University Graduate School of Design in 1989 and between 1994 and 2014, and were professors at ETH Zürich from 1999 to 2018. They also co-founded ETH Studio Basel – Contemporary City Institute, a research programme focused on processes of urban and territorial transformation.

During its early years, the practice gained international recognition with projects such as the Blue House in Oberwil (1980), the Ricola Storage Building in Laufen (1987), the Stone House in Tavole (1988), and Dominus Winery in Yountville, California (1998). These projects helped establish an architectural approach based on material experimentation, the reinterpretation of construction systems, and the exploration of new relationships between structure, building envelope, and space.

The practice's international reputation grew significantly with the transformation of the former Bankside Power Station into Tate Modern in London (2000), one of the most influential cultural adaptive reuse projects of recent decades. This was followed by buildings such as Schaulager in Münchenstein (2003), Prada Aoyama in Tokyo (2003), the de Young Museum in San Francisco (2005), Allianz Arena in Munich (2005), CaixaForum Madrid (2008), the Beijing National Stadium (2008), VitraHaus in Weil am Rhein (2010), and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg (2017).

The practice has also expanded its work into museums, collective housing, educational and healthcare buildings, and urban transformation. Notable projects include Pérez Art Museum Miami (2013), the extension of Tate Modern in London (2016), the residential tower at 56 Leonard Street in New York (2017), the Tai Kwun cultural centre in Hong Kong (2018), the M+ museum in Hong Kong (2021), and the extension of Museum Küppersmühle in Duisburg (2021).

In recent years, Herzog & de Meuron has completed projects including the University Children's Hospital Zurich (2024), the Roche pRED research centre in Basel (2024), the Hortus office building in Allschwil (2025), the new Lombard Odier headquarters in Bellevue, Geneva (2025), Calder Gardens in Philadelphia (2025), and the transformation of Marcel Breuer's building on Madison Avenue in New York for Sotheby's (2025). Further projects followed in 2026, including Titlis Tower in Engelberg and the Ford Student Center at Amherst College in Massachusetts.

A distinctive aspect of the practice's work has been its collaboration with artists from different generations, including Rémy Zaugg, Thomas Ruff, and Michael Craig-Martin, alongside projects exploring the relationships between architecture, contemporary art, and public space.

Herzog & de Meuron currently employs more than 500 professionals from approximately 50 countries. The practice maintains its headquarters in Basel, with offices in cities including Berlin, Barcelona, Hong Kong, London, Munich, New York, Paris, and San Francisco. Its leadership structure comprises the founding partners, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, together with a team of senior partners, partners, and associate partners. Senior partners include Christine Binswanger, Ascan Mergenthaler, Stefan Marbach, Jason Frantzen, Andreas Fries, and Wim Walschap, who became Chief Executive Officer of the practice in May 2026.

In 2001, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron were awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize. In 2007, they received the Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Praemium Imperiale from the Japan Art Association, followed by the RIBA Jencks Award in 2015. That same year, they established the non-profit institution Jacques Herzog und Pierre de Meuron Kabinett, dedicated to preserving, researching, and sharing their collections of architecture, art, and photography.

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Published on: September 30, 2015
Cite:
metalocus, INÉS LALUETA
"The conceptual design for new Vancouver Art Gallery by Herzog & de Meuron" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/conceptual-design-new-vancouver-art-gallery-herzog-de-meuron> ISSN 1139-6415
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