December 4, 2023 — Siamak Hariri
Toronto, December 1, 2023
Hariri Pontarini Architects and Iredale Architecture have won a prestigious Canadian Architect Award of Merit for The Marianne and Edward Gibson Art Museum in Burnaby, B.C.
The first purpose-built art museum at Simon Fraser University is deeply connected to its natural surroundings and will be the gateway to the Burnaby campus, which speaks to the importance of the facility’s role as a bridge between university and community.
The jurors for the Canadian Architect Award commented: “A simple and refined approach to museum design. The overall massingis lighthearted and creates relationships with the landscape at varying scales and proportions. There is an alternating relationship with light and view between foreground and background which creates visual interest.”
The net-zero target, single-storey structure touches lightly on the land. The mass timber design reinforces this bond with expansive views to the woods and mountains beyond. The cultural landscape within is grounded in a context of experiencing art and the living world together.
The Gibson features community rooms and a living room with fireplace that serve as attractors and blur the line between education and community use. The jury said: “The interior material palette is refined and not over-designed. The museum recalls the simplicity of an earlier age of modernism in a way that is both soothing and nostalgic.”
“It’s always meaningful to be acknowledged by your peers and we are grateful for the recognition from this long-standing awards program promoting the best of Canadian architecture,” said Siamak Hariri, co-founder, Hariri Pontarini Architects.
For more information, please contact:
Paul French, Media Relations, Hariri Pontarini Architects
pfrench@hp-arch.com
C. 416-362-3774
235 Carlaw Avenue, Suite 301 Toronto, Canada M4M 2S1
T: 416 929 4901 | hariripontarini.com