The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) has announced an expansion project designed by Diamond Schmitt, Selldorf Architects and Two Row Architect. The Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery design will increase the museum’s gallery space by 40,000 square feet, with 13 new galleries across five floors.
The exterior façade of the extension will quietly complement the AGO’s existing built environment, respecting the scale of the surrounding neighborhood. Sitting one story above AGO’s existing loading dock, the Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery will be nestled between the AGO and OCAD University. It will connect the existing galleries from four locations, substantially improving visitor circulation in and around the museum.
Focused on increasing gallery space, 13 new exhibition spaces of varying scale and ceiling height will be integrated. These column-free galleries were designed to be flexible and agile to display the works of contemporary artists working across all media, and to adapt to the future generation. The galleries have been designed to adjust to the program's needs, with an ability to host large open spaces and divided series of more intimate areas. Furthermore, the fluidity of the galleries is possible through a robust structural capacity, envisioned to allow complex installations to become immersive and more accessible.
First initiated in 2022, the design of the Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery is being informed by ongoing consultations with indigenous leaders and communities led by Two Row Architect. These exchanges are essential in making the design more adaptable, accessible, relevant, and inclusive. The project's construction is expected to commence in 2024, making it the seventh expansion that the AGO has undertaken.
In the design of the new expansion, we were motivated to create something that would at once announce its presence in a strong and impactful way, relating to and respecting the adjacent Gehry building, Grange Park, and OCAD University urban context as it simultaneously almost blends into the sky depending on the changing light and climate. The interior provides beautiful, well-proportioned flexible galleries that will welcome the public and allow them to experience the AGO’s far-ranging collection in new and engaging ways. Integrated with the existing museum, the addition is conceived to serve the art and the community alike.
-- Annabelle Selldorf, Principal Selldorf Architects
The expansion space is designed to operate without burning fossil fuel, creating zero emissions through an all-electric mechanical plant. Moreover, the project is seeking CAGBC Zero Carbon Operating Building Certification, and will also be built to Passive House standards, to maximize heating and cooling efficiency.
Selldorf Architects, based in New York City, is well known for its humanist architectural approach, focusing on renovations and cultural activations. Most recently, the studio's proposal to renovate the Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery in London received funding. In 2022, Selldorf Architects and SOM were appointed to revitalize the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum. Finally, the new Qianlong Garden Interpretation Center in the iconic Forbidden City in Beijing, China, was redesigned and restored by Selldorf Architects, opening it to the public for the first time.
