The Art Gallery of Ontario has revealed plans for a major expansion that will add 40,000 square feet of space, increasing the exhibition area of one of North America鈥檚 largest art museums by 30 per cent.
The addition will be named the Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery, after the Canada Goose chairman and CEO whose $35-million donation to launch the project is one of the largest gifts in AGO history.
Designed by Diamond Schmitt, Selldorf Architects and Two Row Architect, the extension will add at least 13 flexible, column-free exhibition spaces across five floors, which will perch one storey above the AGO鈥檚 loading dock, between the Frank Gehry-designed museum building and the Ontario College of Art & Design University. It will be accessible from the AGO鈥檚 current galleries at four locations.
The AGO’s Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery, as viewed from the intersection of Dundas Street West and McCaul Street.
Rendering courtesy of Art Gallery of Ontario, Diamond Schmitt, Selldorf Architects, Two Row Architect and PlayTimeStephan Jost, CEO of the AGO, said that, over the past decade, the museum has added more than 20,000 works to a contemporary and modern collection that now numbers more than 120,000.
As for Reiss鈥檚 contribution, Jost said, 鈥淒ani loves modern contemporary art and he also loves Inuit art. He is from Toronto, his company is based here and, very simply, he wanted to help our city be extraordinary.鈥
The goal for the architects, according to Diamond Schmitt principal Donald Schmitt, is to design a building that is 鈥渟imple, flexible, durable and robust in a way that not only provides real flexibility for curators to show work currently (but gives) them flexibility to 鈥 anticipate different kinds of art and exhibition protocols in the future.鈥
The challenge, Schmitt said, is the location. 鈥淥ur site to build is literally on top of an outdoor courtyard, which is used for trucking and deliveries of art to the gallery,鈥 he said. 鈥淪o we were floating this new building literally in the air and building it without disrupting loading and servicing. The challenge was understanding how to elevate this space, how to connect it to as many floors of the gallery as we can, to the elevators and internally between large gallery spaces.鈥
The interior view of the Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery on the sixth floor.
Rendering courtesy of Art Gallery of Ontario, Diamond Schmitt, Selldorf Architects, Two Row Architect and PlayTimeDiscussions with Indigenous leaders and communities, led by Indigenous firm Two Row Architect, helped shape the design and lead the partners in an environmentally friendly direction. The addition is being designed to operate without the need to burn fossil fuels and with zero carbon emissions.
鈥淭he AGO has done a great job over the last few decades showing the dialogue between Indigenous and mainstream voices, between historic and contemporary works, and this project was an opportunity to extend Indigenous values into the very architecture of the place,鈥 said Brian Porter, principal at Two Row Architect. 鈥淲e have some (design elements) where we are going to be reconnecting back to the city鈥檚 fabric, to the sun and to the sky.鈥
While the project is currently undergoing municipal and public review, Jost said he doesn鈥檛 anticipate any permit issues, 鈥減artly because 100 per cent of this project is a gallery space for the public. There are no commercial aspects to it.鈥
The interior view of the Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery gathering space at the sixth-floor gallery entry.
Rendering courtesy of Art Gallery of Ontario, Diamond Schmitt, Selldorf Architects, Two Row Architect and PlayTimeThe Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery is expected to cost an estimated $100 million to develop, which Jost said will come from various sources. 鈥淲e have other gifts we will announce in the coming months,鈥 he said. 鈥淭here will most likely be some public money as well. But it will be a private-public partnership with the private philanthropist doing the majority of the lifting.鈥
The AGO hopes to start construction in 2024, anticipating completion in 2027.
鈥淚t is going to be a really extraordinary building,鈥 Jost said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not small, but it鈥檚 quiet. It鈥檚 understated elegance. This is what we created.鈥
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