The Art Gallery of Algoma building on Sault Ste. Marie's waterfront needs to be torn down and replaced, city councillors were told tonight.
"The building that was opened in 1980 is now quite deteriorated," said Peggy Theodore, principal of Diamond Schmitt Architects.
"From the outside you might not see that," said Theodore, whose firm recently completed a feasibility study on expanding or replacing the 43-year-old structure.
"Operations and growth have exceeded its capacity and the original design no longer meets current functional and technical standards of a gallery."
As SooToday reported on Saturday, the gallery's board is proposing to build a new, two-level art gallery in Clergue Park.
It would be approximately 30,000 square feet, compared to the existing 18,000-square-foot structure.
No estimate of the new building's cost was provided at tonight's meeting, which was intended as an early-stage briefing for city council.
A number of councillors asked questions that suggested they might have some initial concerns about the proposed new building or its cost.
Theodore said that AGA's permanent collection of more than 5,000 items is at risk of irreversible damage.
"There is a constant risk of losing the Category A status which many of you know allows the gallery to bring in collections from other institutions or to loan out, or to take on loans."
"So as a result, we can't develop anymore, nor evolve, the building as it is now," Theodore said.
Why is the art gallery board holding out for a new build?
"We did find that the mechanical systems are underperforming. They're at the end of service life and as a result, there's been a deterioration of the [building] envelope. A hydrological engineer was hired from Sault Ste. Marie to investigate the significant stormwater infiltration that's happening."
"One of the conclusions is that it's so extensive that a complete demolition would be required because you can't really save a lot of what's there, which is the exterior fabric inclusive of the slab," Theodore said.
Can a second storey just be added to the current AGA foundation?
"A geotechnical consultant was hired – also from here – and noted that the current foundations do not allow for expanding upwards," Theodore told the council meeting.
Current thinking is that a new gallery should be built in Clergue Park.
"And we looked at – very preliminary – building the gallery where it is," Theodore said.
"That would mean demolishing the current one, potentially moving the new gallery while maintaining the existing until the new is built."
"This is just the beginning," Theodore said.
"We have only just started our our work on on this project."
Honorary chair of the AGA's building committee is Dr. Roberta Bondar, Canada's first woman astronaut.
Bondar is strongly hinting she wants to see her photographic collection housed in the new structure.
"The board of directors of the Roberta Bondar Foundation [RBF] is tasked with securing a permanent home for my photographic collection," she says in a recent letter to city council.
"The decision to choose the AGA is predicated not only on the natural connection to Sault Ste. Marie, but also on the integrity of the AGA to provide highly dedicated curatorial staff, professional art conservation and exhibition facilities.
"I continue to deposit archival materials from my spaceflight and life with the James L. McIntyre Public Library in support of my hometown. Likewise, the RBF board of directors believes that a partnership with the AGA to establish a permanent gallery to house my work in an expanded AGA would also support the City of Sault Ste. Marie in its future growth within the arts and culture sector.
"This would promote more viewership of this and other collections and exhibitions of local, national and international artists," Bondar said.
Other bozzettos from Monday night's city council meeting:
- councillors voted to look into building a cycling link from the end of the bike trail at Highway 17B to the city's existing cycling route on Queen Street
- they will also conduct public consultations on removing three traffic signals downtown
- city staff have been directed to investigate using narrowed travel lanes, landscaping, raised medians and other 'road diet' measures to slow local traffic
- councillors agreed on terms of reference for a new anti-hate advisory committee