Patkau Architects harmoniously balances nature and art in the Audain Art Museum

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.

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.

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.”

“The deliberately restrained form and character of the building provides a quiet, minimal backdrop to the art within and the surrounding natural landscape.” 

Find the rest of the 2017 AIBC Architectural Award winners in the link below.

Photos courtesy of the AIBC Architectural Awards.