Vancouver Art Gallery reveals design team for new facility

Key Takeaways:

• The Vancouver Art Gallery has selected Formline Architecture + Urbanism and KPMB Architects to design its new home at Larwill Park, marking the city’s largest cultural infrastructure project in over 30 years
• The project follows a previous stalled attempt with Herzog & de Meuron and will focus on blending Indigenous design perspectives with global architectural expertise
• Community engagement and dialogue will shape the new conceptual design, reflecting Vancouver’s diverse cultural landscape and the gallery’s role as a major cultural institution

The Whole Story:

The Vancouver Art Gallery has selected Formline Architecture + Urbanism and KPMB Architects to design its new home at Larwill Park, marking a major step forward for what will be the city’s largest cultural infrastructure project in more than 30 years.

The decision follows a months-long national search that saw proposals from 14 leading Canadian firms. The gallery’s board of trustees approved the selection based on the recommendation of an architect selection committee made up of board members, artists, donors and construction experts.

The move comes several years after a previous attempt to build a new gallery stalled. In 2014, the institution unveiled an ambitious design by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron—known for London’s Tate Modern and Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium—that envisioned a striking wood-and-glass structure. Despite initial excitement, the project struggled to secure full funding and never moved beyond the conceptual stage, leaving the future of the Larwill Park site uncertain until now.

“The selection of Formline + KPMB to envision the new Gallery is a bold and topical statement supporting Canadian innovation and excellence,” said board chair Jon Stovell in a statement. “KPMB Architects brings a proven track record for creating elegant, world-class museums that centre art and community, while B.C.–based Formline Architecture + Urbanism leads with an Indigenous design vision that is both contemporary and deeply rooted in tradition.”

The Vancouver Art Gallery’s interim co-CEOs, Sirish Rao and Eva Respini, said the new partnership represents an opportunity to build a space that supports storytelling, convening and access to art and ideas.

“This is the largest cultural infrastructure project in Vancouver in over 30 years and we are thrilled to partner with Formline + KPMB,” they said.

Formline founder Alfred Waugh said the commission is personally meaningful, calling it a chance to celebrate Vancouver’s culture while honouring Indigenous peoples and the landscape that has shaped the region.

“My mother asked me to do something meaningful for our people—a request that has sparked my journey into architecture,” Waugh said. “Now we have been privileged with this opportunity to honour the Indigenous peoples who have stewarded this land for generations.”

KPMB founding partner Bruce Kuwabara said the project carries personal resonance for him as well.

“Returning to the province to design the Vancouver Art Gallery is deeply meaningful for me,” said Kuwabara, whose family relocated from British Columbia to Hamilton after being released from an internment camp during the Second World War.

The collaboration between Formline and KPMB blends Indigenous and global design perspectives, with the firms set to develop a new conceptual design in 2026. The gallery says the process will be shaped by community dialogue and public engagement.

Founded in 1931, the Vancouver Art Gallery is recognized as one of North America’s leading visual arts institutions. Its new facility at 181 West Georgia Street aims to serve as both a cultural landmark and a space that reflects the diversity of British Columbia’s communities.