Architects revealed: Vancouver Art Gallery puts faith in new design team

B.C.’s Formline Architecture and Ontario’s KPMB Architects will take on the task of creating the design for the new Vancouver Art Gallery.

Following a rigorous search, the Vancouver Art Gallery has chosen Formline Architecture + Urbanism and KPMB Architects as the design team for its second attempt at a new facility at Cambie and Georgia streets.

The announcement follows a months-long search that saw 14 leading Canadian firms submit proposals.

Formline is a B.C.-based, Indigenous-led firm founded by Alfred Waugh.

“Our team is deeply honoured to receive the commission to design the new Vancouver Art Gallery, as it brings my personal journey full circle in a profound way,” he said.

Toronto’s KPMB Architects is led by Bruce Kuwabara, and has a track record of award-winning cultural projects.

These latest architects have been hired nearly a year after the gallery officially scrapped its previous plan, a $600 million, nine-storey wood-and-glass building designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron.

It was halted after 15 years of planning and approximately $64 million spent on pre-construction and design.

Interim co-CEOs Sirish Rao and Eva Respini insisted the community will be consulted in the planning of the latest attempt at a new gallery at Larwill Park.

“This is the largest cultural infrastructure project in Vancouver in over 30 years,” they said.

A new conceptual design is expected in 2026, and gallery is committed to building a space that showcases the cultural diversity of British Columbia.