Hariri Pontarini Architects (HPA) was one of three shortlisted firms; the online design competition invited community members from the York faculty and students to extended community members to attend and comment on the shortlisted proposals before a committee selected the winning design.
The new stand-alone art gallery is possible through a US$5m donation in October 2019 by philanthropists and art collectors Joan and Martin Goldfarb. The gallery will carry their name, to mark their long history of supporting the arts at York University.
The new building will sit at the heart of the School of Arts, Media, Performance & Design and become a centerpiece at York’s Keele Campus. Just steps away from the York University subway station and adjacent to the Harry W. Arthurs Common, between the Accolade East Building and the Centre for Film & Theatre, the gallery will stand out as an icon with Hariri’s signature curves.
The three storey building will highlight architectural innovativeness and define a space for the exhibition of contemporary and historic art, including a ground level event space with four separate gallery spaces set within a redefined xeriscape garden.
The gallery will be a versatile yet distinctive space for a multiplicity of artistic voices and forms. It will also enhance the gallery’s ability to continue its advocacy of underrepresented communities, contribute to artistic production and help amplify artists’ voices.
To signify this transformation, we were inspired by metaphor and nature. Like a butterfly, each of the five wings of the new gallery extend their reach out to the campus and of course beyond. Responding to the AGYU’s aspiration to expand the social and civic role of the gallery, the building will have a powerful presence, a new presence, embracing the full University Common, and welcoming and attracting visitors to all the wonder it has to offer.
HPA’s design, led by Hariri, was selected for its visual strength and magnetising draw with a vision to generate flow and connection while centering the arts on campus. The design expressed a nuanced understanding of art, its role in society, and the framework needed to support art and the curatorial process.
The AGYU opened in 1988 and moved into its current 3,000 sq ft space in 2006; combined with the AGYU’s current spaces, the new building will form a unified art institution that will magnify the breadth of the gallery’s scope, with a re-envisioning of the University’s art collection.