He received this order as a result of a competition held in July 2003.
The new building, worth 100 million Canadian dollars, will be located in its halls on an area of 6,500 square meters. m exhibition dedicated to the history, art and culture of Alaska and the polar North - thereby complementing the existing buildings. It will be erected on the site of the demolished prison and fire station and will also become the main entrance to the museum complex, linking it to the city center.
Chipperfield decided the facade of the new building in the form of alternating blank surfaces and holes that serve as panoramic windows. This inclusion of the surrounding cityscape into the space of the museum was one of the architect's ideas.
The glazed first floor of the building will, on the contrary, allow opening the museum halls into the street space so that pedestrians can look inside the building.
