The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) has scrapped its plans to build a new home designed by the Swiss architect firm Herzog and de Meuron, as costs spiraled from C$400m ($296 million) to C$600m ($445 million).

Back in 2014, after years of deliberation, VAG granted the blue-chip company its first project in Canada. It was designed to better accommodate the museum’s needs and revitalize the city’s art scene with a high-profile statement. The goal has been to move from its current home inside a former courthouse to a purpose-built facility at Larwill Park, a city-owned site that stands a handful of blocks away in downtown Vancouver.

Herzog and de Meuron’s design was characteristically bold: a nine-story tall structure with a woven copper façade that echoed to the weaving techniques of traditional Musqueam. Unfortunately, funding and runaway costs have been a recurrent problem.

Back when the project was first floated in 2012, costs were estimated at C$300 million ($210 million). This number has continued to rise. In September, 2023, Larwill Park hosted a ground awakening ceremony that announced the project had raised C$350 million ($247 million) and was only C$55 million ($41 million) short of its fundraising targets. The mood was celebratory, with 2028 cited as the opening year.

The neoclassical Vancouver Art Gallery was originally a courthouse. Photo: Richard Nowitz/Getty Images.

In March of this year, around a decade on from first announcing its designs, construction finally got under way on the structure. By August, work had been paused with VAG reassessing the project’s direction. It was revealed that the projected cost of the building had grown by 50 percent on account of rising construction costs. To date, the project has spent around C$60 ($43 million) in planning and pre-construction costs.

“The Gallery Association’s Board has made the difficult decision to part ways with Herzog and de Meuron,” Anthony Kiendl, VAG director, said in a statement. “We recognize that inflation has put tremendous pressure on our plans, as it has done with many capital projects following the pandemic. It has become clear that we require a new way forward to meet both our artistic mission and vision and our practical needs.”

Described as a net positive revenue generation project for the tourist economy of British Columbia, various administrative bodies have been willing to provide funding for VAG with Kiendl noting in August that the government had provided nearly 40 percent in funding. All the same, private donors have been key.

The C$100 million ($70.5 million) pledged by Michael Audain, a Vancouver philanthropist and collector, was contingent on the Herzog and de Meuron design. Audain told CBC News he remains interested in supporting VAG, but that the new architect should be Canadian.

VAG has said it hopes to make its plans clear in 2025 and that it remains committed to delivering the “innovative art museum that we know Vancouver deserves.”