5468796 Architecture + Number TEN Architectural Group’s proposal for the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Canada (AGGV), was awarded the prestigious Future Project of the Year Award at the World Architecture Festival in Singapore.
Working with landscape architects Atelier Anonymous, the team’s proposed design creatively respects the gallery’s historic mansion, modern additions and existing garden, but refreshes the site and re-imagines it as a village of small pavilions interspersed amongst landscaped public spaces.
The proposal weaves the property with the fabric of the surrounding neighbourhood, encouraging engagement with the gallery at all hours and from all directions. Expansive glass walls expose the interiors of the pavilions, and an internal courtyard invites the community to look in, while providing gallery visitors with views of their greater context.
The highlight of the design is an upper-level gallery, presented as a spiny extension of wooden “quills.” The extension cascades over the site and nestles into the dense tree canopy, allowing visitors to experience the exhibitions in the air, as if walking through the trees, creating a gallery experience unlike any other in Canada.
Esteemed international jury members Kai-Uwe Bergman, Peter Cook, Michael Rayner, Richard Francis-Jones and Maria Warner Wong commented, “The jury was unanimous that the Art Gallery of Victoria is a project that embodies the future – both in terms of creating an intimate yet radical response to its suburban Victorian setting as well as being a beacon of what is to come from its authors.”
In response to the win, 5468796 principal Johanna Hurme had this to say, “No matter the scale or scope of a project brief, we constantly seek opportunities to fulfill our client’s requirements while also expanding on their vision. It is a great honour for our AGGV proposal to receive such international attention and accolades.”
The World Architecture Festival, held in Singapore Oct. 1-3, is the world’s largest architecture festival. Its live awards competition, dedicated to celebrating and sharing international architectural excellence, is arguably the most important nexus for debate and discussion about architecture today.
The AGGV project was selected from an impressive shortlist, including submissions from hundreds of leading practices from over 50 countries across the globe. Johanna Hurme and Sasa Radulovic, 5468796 principals, and Brent Bellamy, Number TEN Architectural Group’s creative director, picked up the award at the closing WAF Gala Dinner at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.
The win was reported by media outlets around the world, including CNN, who announced the award under the headline “World’s Best Architects Named.”
For more information about 5468796 Architecture, visit http://www.5468796.ca/
For more information about Number TEN Architectural Group, visit: http://www.numberten.com/