Vancouver Art Gallery has parted ways with Swiss architecture studio Herzog & de Meuron after nearly a decade of planning a new building in Vancouver's downtown.

The announcement comes after preliminary construction was halted in late summer on the site – a parking lot in the heart of Vancouver, which is one of the last undeveloped sites in the city's dense urban core.

Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) cited financial concerns, especially post-pandemic inflation, as the primary reasons for ending the decade-long collaboration between the institution and the studio.

"A new way forward" after pandemic strains

"We recognize that inflation has put tremendous pressure on our plans, as it has done with many capital projects following the pandemic," said VAG CEO and executive director Anthony Kiendl in a statement.

"It has become clear that we require a new way forward to meet both our artistic mission and vision, and our practical needs."

The parcel of land was set aside in 2005, and the institution selected a design by Herzog & de Meuron in 2014. Renderings of the project showed a building of stacked volumes clad in copper protruding from a mass-timber structure.

At first, the studio pitched a more wood-forward design to reference the natural surroundings of the city, then a glass-and-concrete structure, and finally the copper-clad scheme that was in place until the recent cancellation of plans.

VAG said that the collaboration shaped its thinking "around what a museum could look like in the 21st century".

Herzog & de Meuron "disappointed"

No new plans for the future of the gallery, which continues to operate from a neo-classical building blocks away from the proposed site. The Herzog de Meuron scheme would have nearly doubled the current floorplan.

Herzog de Meuron said it was "disappointed" in the decision.

"We are disappointed that the Vancouver Art Gallery has decided to pause their building project and part ways with Herzog & de Meuron," said the studio.

"Since starting the project in 2014, we have valued the collaboration and have enjoyed working closely with the diverse groups of people involved, always open to adapt to the evolving requirements of the city, community and leadership."

Other building projects in include a KPF-designed skyscraper with an "aqueous" form and a massive skyscraper development being created to house members of a local First Nations.