Stick around: link at the end of this article to see the world’s tallest unoccupied building.
Editor’s Note
The Ottawa Art Gallery Expansion is an incredible example of a double material system to produce an effect. Rarely do we see materials doubled up, but when we do, we should take notice and see how the relationship between layers can carry more architectural weight than either material could alone.
Ottawa Art Gallery expansion achieves something rare: a building that reads as a single, coherent object from a distance, but is assembled from entirely distinct cladding systems up close. The materials are not exotic. What is unusual is how deliberately they are separated, layered, and assigned to different volumes of the same building. Each material does exactly one job, and no material does more than it needs to.
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Amico Apex
Expanded Metal Mesh
The primary facade of the gallery volume is the product that most people respond to, without knowing what it is. The outer skin is an expanded metal mesh from Amico, their Apex series, which is suspended in front of the building's actual wall assembly.
This layering is the central design move. The mesh is not structural. It does not keep water out or insulate the building. Its function is almost entirely optical. At certain distances and in certain light conditions, the mesh reads as a solid surface. At others, it dissolves and the building behind it becomes visible. The effect is intentional, and it depends on the specific aperture geometry of the Apex series.
What makes this a technically interesting choice is that the mesh is a standard product deployed in a non-standard way. Expanded metal is widely used in industrial applications. Here it is used to create a primary architectural expression for a cultural institution. The product did not change. The context did.
Vicwest AD300-SR
Metal Siding
Behind the mesh, the actual wall cladding is Vicwest's AD300-SR metal siding. This is the substrate that the mesh sits in front of, and in many ways it is the most pragmatic material on the building.
The AD300-SR is a hidden fastener panel with a smooth face and a subtle shadow reveal. It is a cost-effective product, and that is precisely why it is here. KPMB's original design intent called for a custom perforated mesh. When budget constraints eliminated that option, the team needed an inexpensive backing surface that would remain invisible behind the outer layer. The Vicwest panel does that job without adding unnecessary complexity or cost to the wall assembly.
There is something honest about this. The most visible building in the composition is partly held together by a product chosen for its economy. The design does not hide this. It just puts something more interesting in front of it.
What is worth noting is that this building was partly shaped by budget constraints. The custom perforated mesh that KPMB originally designed never got built. What replaced it was a standard industrial product in front of an inexpensive steel panel. That compromise is now the most discussed surface on the building. It is a useful reminder that material selection does not always follow a straight line from intention to execution, and that the detour sometimes produces the more interesting result.
From the Architect’s Desk
“The house has to please everyone, contrary to the work of art which does not. The work is a private matter for the artist. The house is not.”
– Adolf Loos
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Until next time,
Bibliography
Facades+. "The New Ottawa Art Gallery Dissolves into the Sky with Clever Detailing." Facades+, 30 June 2018. https://facadesplus.com/the-new-ottawa-art-gallery-dissolves-into-the-sky-with-clever-detailing/
The Architect's Newspaper. "The New Ottawa Art Gallery Dissolves into the Sky with Clever Detailing." The Architect's Newspaper, June 2018. Republished via KPMB Architects. https://www.kpmb.com/news/the-architects-newspaper-the-new-ottawa-art-gallery-dissolves-into-the-sky-with-clever-detailing/
The Architect's Newspaper. "The New Ottawa Art Gallery Hovers Above Ground in an Expanded Metal Box." The Architect's Newspaper, June 2018. https://www.archpaper.com/2018/06/the-ottawa-art-gallery-hovers-above-ground-in-an-expanded-metal-box/
