The Metropolitan Museum of Art has tapped UK-based architect David Chipperfield’s firm to redesign its Southwest Wing for modern and contemporary art. The remodel will be the first stage in a larger plan to enhance the museum for the future.
Architect David Chipperfield.
“David Chipperfield’s global architectural experience and sensibility, along with his commitment to the collaborative aspect of creating architecture, make him a perfect partner on this milestone project,” said Thomas P. Campbell, director and CEO of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “His museum projects are brilliantly coherent, elegant and accessible.”
Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The renovation is meant to enhance gallery configuration and visitor navigation throughout the Southwest Wing, as well as facilitate passage between the museum and Central Park. The Roof Garden will double in size, gallery space will increase and accessible on-site storage will be created. Work will coincide with the Met’s programming in the Marcel Breuer-designed modernist building on Madison Avenue at 75th Street, which formerly housed the Whitney Museum of American Art, beginning in Spring 2016.
“We are delighted to have been selected for this extraordinary commission,” said Chipperfield. “During the competition we developed an understanding and fondness for this amazing institution and we look forward to working with Tom Campbell and his colleagues on the development of the design.”
Former projects by Chipperfield include the Neues Museum in Berlin, Museo Jumex in Mexico City, the Saint Louis Art Museum and The Hepworth in Wakefield, England.
