Two Row Architect reflects on the Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery
The Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery is the latest visionary expansion of the AGO, and the product of an architectural collaboration between Selldorf Architects, Diamond Schmitt and Two Row Architect.
A view of the Toronto skyline from the Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery site.
For Brian Porter and Matthew Hickey, respectively Principal and Partner at Two Row Architect, the Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery presented an opportunity to ensure that a major addition to the Toronto cityscape reflected the values of Indigenous communities.
“So many buildings get built without any sort of cultural narrative,” says Brian, who adds that part of his attraction to the project was the chance to create more space to show Indigenous art from the AGO Collection. “It was great to be able to have this cultural narrative as a starting point to inform different kinds of decisions.”
Tapping into this cultural narrative began before the design process, when Two Row Architect set up talking circles with prominent Indigenous artists. “I felt privileged to be able to listen to their stories and what was important to them,” Brian says.
“It’s a testament to the idea of listening first and making sure we’re accurately representing what the community wants,” adds Matthew.
Brian cites the adaptability of gallery space, including areas that can be used as large rooms or partitioned into smaller sections, as a key example. “A lot of those ideas came from the ways Indigenous communities will take a big gathering space and appropriate it for specific uses and be flexible about it.”
The building’s terra cotta cladding is another example. A natural, handmade clay material, terra cotta has connections to traditional pottery, and for this project it will be shaped as a nod to the tubular wampum beads common to the people of the Six Nations. Matthew also praises its ephemeral, reflective quality. “There’s a dynamic nature to the cladding; it changes visually as the sun and clouds move across the sky.”
Connection to the sky is also central to another Two Row Architect concept: the oculus that brings natural light into the building’s staircase. “The idea was to take an experience that is fairly banal—going up and down a staircase—and finding a way to tell a story,” says Brian. “It’s an opportunity to passively connect with the sky world.”
Both Brian and Matthew also point out that the view from the staircase will also help visitors orient themselves based on cardinal directions—yet another way that Two Row Architect has helped ensure that the Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery maintains a strong connection to the earth and the community it will soon welcome through its doors.