For Kaegan Walsh, the local architect behind the redesign, preserving the building’s industrial heritage was essential. Working closely with the gallery, Walsh set out to create a space that honours the rawness of its origins while adapting it for its new life as a dynamic exhibition space. The result is a gallery that feels expansive yet intimate, polished yet deeply connected to its past.

“The gallery itself becomes part of the experience,” Walsh explains. “It’s not just a container for art—it’s a space that frames the work while inviting visitors to reflect on its own history. The imperfections, the exposed materials—they’re as much a part of the narrative as the artworks on the walls.”

Occupying 22,000 square feet across two floors, the new gallery strikes a delicate balance between restoration and modern intervention. Much of the original structure remains intact: exposed steel beams, masonry walls and wood floors upstairs retain the patina of decades of use. The floors still bear traces of machinery—dark stains and scuffs that speak to the building’s industrial past. Rather than conceal these details, Walsh and Huang embraced them, allowing the architecture to reveal its story.

“We debated replacing the floors,” Walsh recalls, “but ultimately decided to patch and preserve them. New floors might have been pristine, but they wouldn’t have the same soul. Keeping those layers of history gives the building depth. It becomes more than just a backdrop—it’s an active participant in the experience.”

Natural light pours into the gallery through large factory windows, illuminating the space in soft, diffuse tones. While the light enhances the viewing experience, it also posed challenges for the preservation of sensitive artworks. To address this, Walsh introduced a custom shading system that allows for flexibility without disrupting the building’s open, airy feel.

“The northern light has this beautiful, almost serene quality that’s perfect for showing more delicate pieces,” he notes. “It changes throughout the day, creating subtle shifts in how the art is experienced. Light is one of the most powerful elements in a gallery—it shapes everything.”

Despite its industrial character, the design remains flexible and understated—essential qualities for a gallery constantly in flux. White-painted gypsum walls serve as a clean canvas for rotating exhibitions, while carefully placed partitions create pockets of intimacy within the otherwise expansive space.

“We kept the interventions minimal on purpose,” Walsh says. “Galleries need to be adaptable. The space has to evolve with each new exhibition. You’re always walking that line between creating something visually compelling and staying out of the way of the art.”

Walsh’s design philosophy draws on his experience working at Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), where he was part of the team behind the addition to New York’s New Museum. Led by Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas, the project focused on creating a raw, flexible space that could accommodate artists’ unpredictable needs. “Working on the New Museum addition taught me the importance of restraint,” Walsh reflects. “That space was designed to be rough and ready—an environment where artists could shape it however they needed. Bau-Xi Gallery isn’t quite as raw, but the spirit of adaptability is the same.”

The new location signals an evolution for Bau-Xi Gallery, which has been a fixture of Canada’s art scene since the 1960s. Founded by Bau-Xi Huang, the gallery has long championed both Canadian and international artists, with locations in Vancouver, Banff, Seattle and Toronto. This new space, however, offers something more—a chance to grow while staying rooted in the character and history of a city in constant evolution.

“There’s something powerful about adaptive reuse,” Walsh says. “You can feel the energy of the people who worked here before—the decades of labor. That energy is still present, but it’s been transformed. Instead of factory work, it’s about creativity and culture. It’s a new kind of production.”

Written by: Joseph Cicerone