The Museum of Anthropology (MOA) is again being recognized as an important part of Canadian architecture—the time making UBC’s popular tourist and student destination into a national landmark through the Prix du XXe Siècle Award.
“We are so fortunate–here at UBC, in Vancouver, in Canada–to be able to share the beauty of this building with visitors from around the world,” said Jennifer Webb, MOA’s communications manager.
MOA was designed by architect Arthur Erickson and landscape architect Cornelia Oberlander and opened in 1976. The exterior reflecting pool was added in September 2010 as per the original design of the museum. Erickson, an internationally renowned architect, also was also behind the building design of Koerner Library at UBC, and the original design of Simon Fraser University.
Gavin De West is a Vancouverite that has visited the museum dozens of times. He considers Erickson one of his architectural heroes. “The great thing about this building is it just kind of melts into the landscape. It’s a very open and airy place, yet it’s not huge. You can see everything in one visit, which is great,” he said.
“All the glass at the front is stunning, I like how there is hardly any stairs. It’s a very accessible building. It’s decorated in neutral tones and is sympathetic to the art it shows, as there is a lot of colour in the pieces here.”
The Prix du XXe Siècle Award was presented to the museum by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC), an organization devoted to highlighting the diverse range of inspirations and concepts in Canadian architecture as well as showcasing talented architects. The Award is given to buildings completed between twenty-five and fifty years ago, specifically buildings that have established themselves as important physical or cultural landmarks in Canada.
This is not the first accolade that the Museum has received. In 1983 the Museum was awarded the Governor General’s Medals in Architecture for outstanding architecture and the Museum was recently declared a top tourist attraction by Tourism Canada as well.
UBC’s Downtown branch in Robson Square also took home the award this year, along with the University of Regina’s heating and cooling plant and the Ottawa Train Station. Previous recipients include SFU in Burnaby and Habitat’67 in Montreal.
“It is an honour to receive such a prestigious award, and a tribute to the vision of the architect[s],” said Webb. “Together, they created a magnificent museum that is both respectful of its natural environment and expressive of truly great West Coast style.”
Sean Tynan, a recent UBC graduate, visited the museum for his first time on Sunday. “There’s that great main entrance when you come in, it’s really fantastic it feels like great open space,” he said.
Tynan was pleased to hear the museum was being given national landmark status. “There’s a great symbolic connection in displaying this as our shared Canadian heritage,” he said. “It’s the history of BC and the history of Canada. It’s good to see it.”
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