Patkau Architects
John Patkau, FRAIC, Patricia Patkau, FRAIC, Peter Suter with Michael Green, FRAIC, Marc Holland, Jacqueline Ho, Thomas Schroeder
Occupancy: November 11, 2017
Construction Budget: $12 million
The Polygon Gallery is an instrument of transformation. It is an industrial waterfront re-imagined as a cultural hub. It is a mutable scaffold for artistic provocation. It is an assertive figure yielding to flows of people and the diurnal play of skylight.The building is articulated as two bodies; at grade, a warm outward body of light; above grade, a cool inward bearing. Hidden musculature liberates both from static impediments. At grade, uninterrupted glass opens and invites. Above grade, expanded aluminum grills on mirrored stainless steel beget a crisp, animate architectural skin. Within, studio-like art space offers raw potential.
“The bold mass and jagged profile of this public gallery hover weightlessly over a glass entry floor. The building creates a generous covered public area on the North Vancouver waterfront, with the form generating interaction between passersby and art-goers, lowering the boundary between elite art activities and daily life. Sensitive to sky and sea, the shimmering façade reflects the changing light, outside, while the inside boasts flexible galleries capped by intimidating skylights.”
Jury members