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Art Gallery of Alberta expands with Randall Stout Architects
Needing to expand and get greater public exposure on its prominent corner site, the Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) in Edmonton Canada held an international design competition that resulted in Los Angeles based Randall Stout Architect getting the nod. Stout’s proposal, which bested designs from such luminaries as Zaha Hadid and Will Alsop, transforms AGAs 1960s Brutalist building and adds 27,000 square feet of space resulting in a new 84,000 square foot museum with enhanced exhibition spaces, educational facilities, theatre, restaurant and sculpture garden.
Crafted of patinaed zinc, high performance glazing and stainless steel, the centerpiece of the design is an undulating ribbon of steel that meanders through the museum’s public spaces eventually penetrating through to the exterior, resulting in a bold new expression that gives the institution a fresh new image while opening it up to the community. While the public spaces are highly sculptural and transparent, the gallery spaces are simple stacked rectangular boxes resulting in the juxtaposition of two very different architectural languages that heightens design interest while satisfying the practical concerns of exhibiting art.
The museum is expected to open to the public in early 2010.
Sharon McHugh
US Correspondent
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