Winnipeg Art Gallery: Qaumajuq

The Winnipeg Art Gallery, or ‘the WAG’, was founded as the Winnipeg Museum of Fine Arts in 1912 in the Industrial Bureau Exposition Building at the corner of Main and Water St. After growing and transforming for several decades, the organization broke ground in late 1969 on an impressive modernist building on Memorial Boulevard, designed by Gustavo da Roza. Most recently, opening in 2021, Michael Maltzan Architecture designed the Inuit art center, or Qaumajuq, which nestles comfortably in the notch of the original building.

The Qaumajuq holds over 27,000 artworks, including the largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art in the world. Equally groundbreaking is the structure itself, formed as a representation of a great iceberg ready to calve into the ocean – reminiscent of the Inuit ancestral lands in and around the Artic circle. The stark contrast of the modernist building holding onto the organic form of the addition lifts its presence and prominence in the community. The building isn’t just a display place for art either, but an invocation of nature itself. The volumes, passages, surfaces, and textures are all representations and extensions of the artic theme.

Daylight plays such an important role in life near the Artic circle too and daylight integration into the main gallery space was an important part of the experience. The sculpted, conical skylight wells were carefully designed to bounce reflected light and redistribute it softly to the gallery walls and floor, 10 meters below. Integrated shading devices, screens, can be applied to each skylight for each show, to control the maximum amount of natural light that enters the space, protecting any light-sensitive pieces. The daylight contribution ultimately adds volume and doesn’t cap the space at the ceiling.

The electric lighting systems pick up where the daylight leaves off when the sun sets. The main gallery employs a modern LED track system specifically capable of servicing the 10m space. The deeper you move into the building, and to the lower levels, the LED lighting systems take form for each space they’re supporting. The main lobby space utilizes linear streaks of light all headed in one direction, as you might expect to see left behind by a slow-moving glacier across the landscape. The amorphous multi-story curved glass visible vault in the lobby relies on its own low-voltage micro track system which follows the flow of the glass around the artifacts.

The overall impression of the Qaumajuq is one of immense respect and homage to the Inuit people and their culture. The architectural merger of the metaphor with modern art museum design principles, and sustainable lighting design reinforcement is a complete success for the WAG, Winnipeg, and the built environment in general.

Lighting Designer: Lam Partners
Matt Latchford, PE, IALD, MIES, LC, LEED AP BD+C
Paul Zaferiou, IALD, RA
Maggie Golden, PE, LC, Assoc. IALD

Architect: Michael Maltzan Architecture, Inc.
Executive Architect: Cibinel Architecture Ltd.
Engineer: MCW Consultants Ltd.