The powers that be at the Edmonton Art Gallery (soon to be renamed THE ART GALLERY OF ALBERTA) have announced their choice to design the brand new art gallery. The headline in today’s Edmonton Journal reads
Art gallery designed as work of art
What do you think? Post your opinions
…hence the entry title. The winning architect is Los Angelean Randall Stout, who beat out three other entries including one pink polka dotted entry from Allsop and Partners, and my personal fave from architectural superstar Zaha Hadid. Here’s a picture of the winning design:

Interestingly, a lot of the focus of the news in print on the competition has been on the personalities of the designers, to the point of bashing in some cases. Unsurprisingly then, our winning architect spent several months in Edmonton getting to know the city and has been quoted ad nauseum talking about how friendly and charming Edmonton is.
Here’s a crucial question for all you non-Edmontonians. How important is a public building, and specifically a world class art gallery (including it’s external appearance) to the world class impression a city gives? And to the vitality of its downtown?