Remai Modern Art Gallery of Saskatchewan

Saskatoon, Canada

The Remai Modern Art Gallery of Saskatchewan is situated in River Landing, a developing cultural and community hub in Saskatoon’s south downtown area.

Remai Modern Art Gallery of Saskatchewan

Saskatoon, Canada

The Remai Modern Art Gallery of Saskatchewan is situated in River Landing, a developing cultural and community hub in Saskatoon’s south downtown area.

The gallery more than tripled its space for temporary and collection-related exhibitions and includes a community gallery, studio classrooms, a film and lecture theatre, meeting rooms, and spaces for receptions and other public events.

The striking building features a unique composition thanks to four stacked horizontal volumes that overlook the South Saskatchewan River. The project meets rigorous gallery standards required to host world-class national and international touring exhibitions, previously unavailable to the city. It also exceeds some of these standards, thanks to project goals such as designing for 50% lower energy consumption compared to international gallery standards. Energy efficiency contributes to the project’s LEED® Silver certification target.

location

Saskatoon, Canada

Awards

2020, Governor General's Medal in Architecture; 2011, Award of Excellence, Canadian Architect

Client

The City of Saskatoon

Role

Structural Engineering Consultant

Civic Trust Award

Award of Excellence

Canadian Architect

Architect

KPMB; Architecture49 (formerly Smith Carter)

Budget

$81.8 M

LEED Certification

LEED® Silver

Size

19,000 m² (205,000 ft²)

Excellence Awards

Ontario Association of Architects

Medal in Architecture

Governor General's Awards

Challenge

The gallery needed structural framing for stacked horizontal volumes that cantilever up to 45 feet while providing unobstructed views of the river. Vierendeel trusses met this need but presented an additional challenge: since the gallery’s multipurpose room will foreseeably host large crowds dancing near where others may sit and eat, excessive vibration of the room’s Vierendeel truss structure had to be prevented.

Solution

A vibration analysis was performed, and a tuned mass damper was provided in the floor of the room to keep vibration below an acceptable level.