Polygon Gallery: Waterfront Landmark
- ARCHICASTING
- Sep 13, 2024
- 8 min read
Updated: Oct 18
In a city renowned for its breathtaking landscapes of snow-capped mountains, pristine beaches, and dense forests, a new waterfront cultural hub is drawing attention: Polygon Gallery. This art institution is rapidly becoming a cornerstone of North Vancouver’s cultural scene, winning the prestigious 2021 RIBA International Excellence Award and the 2021 AIA Architecture Award. To delve deeper into its unique design and context, we visited the gallery for an in-depth exploration.
Project Background
Located in North Vancouver, a small city on the northern shore of Burrard Inlet, Polygon Gallery stands as a testament to the evolving cultural landscape of the region. North Vancouver is one of the most urbanized areas in Greater Vancouver, with a population of around 50,000 people. Historically, the city has been known for its shipping and port industries.
Originally called the Presentation House Gallery, Polygon Gallery is the largest non-profit photography gallery in Western Canada. Since its founding in 1981, the gallery has hosted over 300 exhibitions. As the gallery’s old facilities became outdated, a decision was made to rebuild on the same site. The new gallery, designed by local firm Patkau Architects, is located at the scenic Lonsdale Quay, and since opening in 2017, it has quickly become a cultural hub for the city’s waterfront area, winning multiple international architectural awards.
Location
The gallery is situated on the southern waterfront of North Vancouver, about 24 kilometers from Vancouver International Airport, a 40-minute drive. As part of Greater Vancouver, a well-known tourist destination, the gallery is easily accessible via public transportation. Its location at Lonsdale Quay means visitors can arrive directly by ferry from downtown Vancouver, enhancing its connectivity.
Accessibility
Polygon Gallery is easily reached by both private vehicles and public transportation:
By car: A 40-minute drive from Vancouver International Airport, offering a scenic route that passes through the iconic Stanley Park and its lush forest.
By public transport: Visitors can take Vancouver’s efficient public transit system, including the SkyTrain, to downtown Vancouver and then transfer to the ferry, which directly arrives at Lonsdale Quay, just steps from the gallery. The total travel time is around one hour.
Visiting Hours
Polygon Gallery is open year-round, closing only on Mondays and Tuesdays. Regular hours are from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, with extended hours on Thursdays until 8:00 pm. Admission is free, generously sponsored by BMO Financial Group. Given Vancouver’s mild, temperate maritime climate, the best time to visit is from mid-June to early September, when temperatures range from 20°C in summer to above 0°C in winter, making it an ideal year-round destination.
Visitor Experience
Polygon Gallery covers an area of approximately 4,000 square meters, located in the commercial heart of North Vancouver’s waterfront at Lonsdale Quay, overlooking the Burrard Inlet.
To fully appreciate the gallery’s role in shaping the area, we began our visit from about 500 meters to the north, walking downhill toward the waterfront. As we approached, the expansive waterfront plaza surrounding the gallery came into view, and further ahead, the striking gallery itself. Its minimalist façade with comb-like roofing and the hanging signage bearing the gallery’s name immediately make it recognizable.
As you reach the end of the road, the full expanse of the gallery and its waterfront plaza unfolds before you, framed against the skyline of the city across the bay. The façade facing the road showcases the junction of two main elevations, immediately recognizable by its distinctive comb-like roof structure and the hanging signage of the gallery's name.
According to the design team’s description: “Polygon Gallery is the rebirth of Presentation House Gallery. For over forty years, it has been a passionate, independent institution for photography and media in North Vancouver. Rather than simply responding to the site, the building acts as a creator of its environment. Positioned at the frontier of the city’s waterfront revitalization, its infrastructure has been reimagined, with culture here surpassing the area’s industrial past. The gallery asserts its importance within North Vancouver’s social and cultural life, embodying a bold image of renewal.”
The designer's vision is palpable, transforming the site into a vibrant waterfront cultural hub. The flat, open waterfront plaza seamlessly connects the city streets with the bay, while the building itself is elevated by about one meter. The second floor features a large cantilever, and the transparent materials used on the ground level minimize visual barriers, enhancing the site’s vertical richness and extending panoramic views. The gallery’s form also responds to the city skyline across the water. Architecturally, it incorporates elements from its industrial heritage (like the wharf), but in doing so, it establishes a new identity as a public cultural space.
The façade of the gallery is a dynamic interplay of materials: an outer layer of perforated aluminum panels and an inner layer of mirror-polished stainless steel. The perforated aluminum draws inspiration from the anti-slip decking commonly found in industrial wharf areas, referencing the site’s past. Its translucent quality harmonizes with the reflective stainless steel beneath. This combination creates a material dialogue, with the building responding to changes in time, weather, and its surroundings. On overcast days, the gallery appears somber, while in bright midday sunlight, it sparkles almost gleefully.
Unlike many galleries, where the technical requirements of the exhibitions dictate a closed-off façade, the dynamic nature of Polygon Gallery’s exterior significantly enhances its appeal, drawing people in even before they’ve encountered the artwork inside.
In the initial design stages, the city government requested the inclusion of a large historical mural on the building’s north façade to highlight its heritage. However, the design team declined, stating that "this new building should not be a historical building but a modern one that invites people to learn about history." We are glad to see that the building indeed reflects the designers' vision.
The gallery’s iconic comb-like skylight serves more than just an aesthetic purpose, echoing its industrial past much like Herzog & de Meuron’s Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. Its true functional intent becomes clearer as one steps inside the gallery space.
Traditionally, galleries have catered primarily to artists and cultural enthusiasts. However, in making Polygon Gallery the new cultural hub of the city center, it was essential to provide public spaces that are inviting and comfortable. Walking around the waterfront plaza, even on a weekday, there’s a sense of ease among visitors. The plaza, though not busy, feels peaceful. While the water features weren’t running—likely due to the cooler, pre-summer weather—the scattered raw wood benches, the undulating seaside boardwalk, and the elevated platforms offering sweeping views of the downtown skyline embody the relaxed yet industrial chic atmosphere that defines the space.
Upon exploring the interior of the gallery, you’ll find it spans two levels, with a total building area of approximately 2,100 square meters. The second floor cantilevers outward from the first-floor footprint, minimizing obstructions to sightlines and pedestrian flow at ground level. The main entrance is located on the east side, seamlessly drawing visitors into the building via the expansive waterfront plaza.
Inside, the design is minimalist, with white walls paired with black signage. The overall atmosphere is clean and simple, with a ceiling height of 3.5 meters on the ground floor. This level houses a reception area, gift shop, temporary exhibition space, lockers, and a café, which occupies nearly a third of the interior floor space. The first floor is surrounded by floor-to-ceiling glass, serving two key purposes: encouraging public interaction and minimizing the visual mass of the building, keeping it as transparent as possible.
The second floor, designed to be a highly flexible exhibition space, is open and unobstructed. The city government’s brief to the designers was clear: the gallery should have no internal obstacles, allowing walls and floors to be freely reconfigured. The ceiling needed to accommodate the suspension of equipment and lighting from any point, and power and multimedia connections had to be accessible from anywhere in the space. Additionally, the gallery was required to support both natural and artificial lighting.
This is where the distinctive "comb-like skylight" seen from the exterior plays a vital role. The skylight allows natural light to diffuse evenly throughout the second-floor gallery, creating an ideal environment for exhibitions, particularly photography. The structural system meets the gallery’s flexible needs perfectly: the large-span trusses eliminate interior columns, ensuring an open exhibition space; steel purlins are suspended below the trusses, providing rails and connections for lighting, data, multimedia, maintenance, and temporary wall partitions. The flooring system is equally versatile, equipped with HVAC, power outlets, and data ports to accommodate any exhibition configuration.
According to the gallery's website and current exhibition details, most of the shows feature photography, installation art, and modern multimedia works. The design of the exhibition spaces is as dynamic as the art they display, changing frequently to suit the needs of various artists and events. The second floor also features a flexible event space for educational programs, outreach, and private gatherings. One of the highlights is the south-facing glass wall, which can fully open to the exterior, connecting the gallery with an outdoor platform that offers stunning panoramic views of the bay.
Since its opening in 2017, the Polygon Gallery has garnered widespread acclaim, quickly becoming a new hub for public events and cultural engagement in the city. It has also earned several prestigious design awards, including the 2021 RIBA International Excellence Award and the 2021 AIA Architecture Award.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) praised the seaside gallery with the following remarks: "The central mass of the new gallery hovers above the ground, creating a passageway to a new public space while offering sweeping views of the urban skyline at its entrance. Its bold façade, though commanding, does not create visual noise, yet it confidently defines its place along the waterfront. The gallery’s street-level activities enliven the growing social life of the waterfront, injecting vibrancy into this new cultural district and giving this small city, nestled next to a renowned metropolis, a bold new identity."
Project Summary:
Polygon Gallery has revitalized its surroundings through a unique design approach, reimagining the area as a vibrant cultural landmark while acknowledging its historical roots. Much like Herzog & de Meuron's philosophy for the Pérez Art Museum, where they stated that the museum is not "a secluded jewel box for art aficionados, but a comfortable public space for everyone," this project does not isolate itself from the community. Instead, it opens up to it.
Patkau Architects’ thoughtful insight, paired with modern technology, has imbued the building with distinct appeal. The comfortable environmental design and flexible spaces invite visitors to linger and gather. What’s truly unforgettable is how this cultural center reflects both the history and evolution of this small waterfront city. The gallery’s façade and interior spaces mirror not only the ebb and flow of its surrounding environment but also the striking skyline of the metropolis across the bay. In this way, the gallery balances between being a quiet, contemplative cultural beacon and a dynamic, ever-changing reflection of its waterfront setting.
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