The board of trustees for New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art has chosen architect David Chipperfield for a major renovation of the museum's southwest wing, which showcases its modern and contemporary holdings. The effort will increase gallery space, expand the roof garden, create additional areas for on-site storage, and "support a more open dialogue between the Museum and Central Park," according to a press release, and may also include work on adjacent galleries and operating spaces.
After a year-long search, David Chipperfield Architects was chosen by the museum's board of trustees over firms including Foster + Partners. Met director and CEO Thomas Campbell said DCA pulled ahead in a search for "vision, experience, and compatibility," because of "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. His museum projects are brilliantly coherent, elegant, and accessible."
People following Campbell on Instagram might have been tipped off by the fact that he's been galavanting across Europe over the last few months visiting museums designed, renovated, or added to by Chipperfield. Though to be fair, that does seem to count most museums in Europe.
Campbell singled out the Neues Museum in Berlin, the Museo Jumex in Mexico City, the Saint Louis Art Museum, and The Hepworth in Wakefield, England as some of his favorite Chipperfield works.
Photos via David Chipperfield Architects
Given that track record, the selection is definitely a safe one.
Chipperfield is fine, unsurprising, starry choice. Sorry @Metmuseum didn't give more thought to NYers like @SelldorfArch. A woman to boot.
— Michael Kimmelman (@kimmelman) March 12, 2015
Campbell added that "the goal in our work with David and his team is to take a giant leap forward in the presentation of modern and contemporary art at the Met within the broader context of our collections across different cultures and more than 5,000 years of history, and to be able to better tell the multiple narratives of the art of our time."
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's new plaza opened in September after a $65M renovation funded by David Koch. And here, for good measure, is a picture of Harry Styles at the Met you may have also seen if you follow Thomas Campbell on Instagram.