47 Issue 4 Winter Edition 2018 BUILD MANITOBA The 40,000 sq.-ft., $65-million Inuit Art Centre will house exhibition spaces, a glass-enclosed visible art vault, conservation facility, art studios, a two-level interactive theatre, classrooms and a café. “It’s really been a long time coming. The Winnipeg Art Gallery is Canada’s oldest civic art gallery, established in 1912,” details Catherine Maksymiuk of the WAG. “In the 1950s, the gallery started collecting Inuit art, and as a result of that, along with a few key donations, we’ve now got the largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art in the world. In fact, over half of the pieces making up the entire WAG collection are Inuit art. There had been talk for many years of creating a space where we could display (and honour more of it, and the people who have created it).” The design schematic was complete, received favourable reviews by all of the players, and resolved all of the goals and concerns put forth by the WAG for its vision, but then came a trip to the North by Michael Maltzan Architecture Principal Michael Maltzan, Cibinel Architecture Principal George Cibinel and WAG Executive Director Stephen Borys. “It was quite a dramatic concept,” explains Cibinel, “but I guess the designer never stops designing. The purpose of the trip was for us all to review and really absorb the true essence of the project, and the northern community and environment. The places we visited became really impressive experiences, and you could see how Michael came back and just threw everything out and started again from zero, so that became a turning point in the project … the design that we came back with is a more fluid, natural form that MECHANICAL ELECTRICAL HIGH VOLTAGE ENERGY ENGINEERING CURRENTLY RECRUITING FOR Field Services Inspectors WWW.MCW.COM/CAREERS 210-1821 WELLINGTON AVENUE WINNIPEG, MB R3H 0G4 Make it Better™ We carry the products you need for home building and commercial contracting needs. Community based since 1971. Visit us online at mcmunnandyates.com | 19 locations Stay connected: Photos courtesy of PCL Constructors Canada Inc.