Patkau Architects harmoniously balances nature and art in the Audain Art Museum
By Justine Testado|
Monday, May 15, 2017
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The Audain Art Museum in Whistler, British Columbia is a 56,000 square-foot structure that displays Michael Audain's remarkable personal art collection, which spans the history of British Columbia from the 18th century to present times. Designed by Vancouver and Victoria-based Patkau Architects, the art museum received a Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia Awards in Architecture medal in the 2017 AIBC Architectural Awards last week. Complementing Whistler's forest landscape, the museum's spacious, minimal design helps create a serene environment for visitors.
Check it out below.
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Patkau Architects' design responds to “three powerful determinants”: housing Audain's permanent collection and temporary exhibitions; the Fitzsimmons Creek floodplain on which the museum is built; and Whistler's snowfall that averages 15 feet deep.
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The scheme involves “projecting a volume of sequential public spaces and galleries into an existing linear void within the surrounding forest,” Patkau Architects writes. “It is elevated a full storey above the ground and crowned with a steeply sloped roof, containing administration and back-of-house support functions.”
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“The deliberately restrained form and character of the building provides a quiet, minimal backdrop to the art within and the surrounding natural landscape.”
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Find the rest of the 2017 AIBC Architectural Award winners in the link below.
Photos courtesy of the AIBC Architectural Awards.
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