The Metropolitan Museum of Art unveiled the design by architect Frida Escobedo for the Oscar L. Tang and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Wing that will create a dynamic new home for The Met’s renowned collection of 20th- and 21st-century art.
Escobedo is the first woman to design a wing in the Museum’s 154-year history, and the historic project will increase the current gallery space by nearly 50 percent, creating more than 70,000 square feet for the display of modern and contemporary art, while addressing accessibility, infrastructure, and sustainability needs across all floors and providing a wing that seamlessly connects with the rest of the Museum.
Drawing inspiration from The Met’s varied architectural styles, diverse art holdings, and setting within Central Park, the Tang Wing will add to the Museum’s rich history of advancing thoughtful, bold, and visionary architecture that is itself a work of art.
The reimagined five-story wing will remain within the existing building’s 123,000-square-foot footprint and be no higher than the original height of the 1880 wing at the center of the Museum complex.
Set to open in 2030, the 126,000-square-foot wing is expected to create 4,000 union jobs through its construction, and the project is targeting 30–40 percent participation by Minority- and Women-owned Business Enterprises.
The design and engineering team consists of lead design architect Frida Escobedo Studio, executive architect Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners LLC, Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, and engineering firms Kohler Ronan and Thornton Tomasetti.
In May 2024, the Museum announced a fundraising milestone of $550 million in private donations for the wing, demonstrating the extraordinary local, national, and international support for the project from both new and longtime trustees and donors.
“The Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the crown jewels of New York City, an iconic cultural landmark representing New Yorkers to the rest of the world,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “By showcasing works of art created by new and established artists from all walks of life, the Tang Wing is a bold endeavor to expand our understanding of the role of art in New York’s culture and our society.”
Frida Escobedo, Founder and Principal of Frida Escobedo Studio, said, “Our goal has been to create a building that fully meets the needs and aspirations of The Met, weaving together vital connections between the Modern and Contemporary Art galleries and other areas of the Museum and at the same time expressing the special significance of the Tang Wing’s place in the city. The wing is in New York, yet of the world; it reflects the global nature of this great collection and also draws inspiration from The Met’s unique surroundings. Such an ambition can be realized only through close and consistent collaboration. We are deeply grateful to our extraordinary partners at The Met and to all the members of the expert design team.”
Project Background
With a global collection spanning more than 5,000 years, The Met is one of the few encyclopedic museums in the world that continues to collect as part of its mission and the only museum in New York City that can display 20th- and 21st-century works in dialogue with art from different centuries and cultures. Exterior view of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo by Brett Beyer, courtesy of The Met
Situated at the southwest corner of the Museum, the Modern and Contemporary Art galleries are located at a critical intersection within the institution: directly adjacent to the newly renovated Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, which displays art from sub- Saharan Africa, the Ancient Americas, and Oceania, and the Carroll and Milton Petrie Court, known for its monumental Italian and French sculptures. The existing wing’s design and layout, however, impede these connections, with the arrangement of its elevators, stairs, restrooms, and mechanical spaces presenting the greatest challenges to visitor wayfinding. The current spatial configurations significantly limit accessibility—one floor, for example, is only publicly accessible by stairs or through back-of-house space with a security escort. These constraints hamper the Museum’s ability to present its collection, particularly large-scale contemporary pieces.
Project Description
Drawing inspiration from the iconic Central Park and the 21 buildings that make up The Met’s existing campus, Escobedo’s design artfully blends a contemporary approach into the Museum’s 154 years of architectural history. Comprising a three-story base with a recessed fourth floor and a further setback fifth floor, the scaled facade takes its cues from the Roche Dinkeloo visionary 1971 master plan, which calls for a rhythm of solids and voids, as exemplified through the use of glass and limestone in the seven buildings Kevin Roche designed.
In a continuation of that overarching vision for the Museum, Escobedo’s facade is defined by a limestone “celosía” —an architectural screen that references a universal architectural language spanning multiple cultures and centuries. Its mineral texture and stone lattice will create a diaphanous surface designed to subtly respond to the movement of sunlight throughout the day. Coupled with the intermittent use of floor-to-ceiling glass, the materiality and composition of Escobedo’s design thoughtfully integrates hallmark design features of Roche’s wings with signature design elements from Richard Morris Hunt and McKim, Mead and White’s Beaux Arts Fifth Avenue facade.
Inside, Escobedo’s design creates rhythmic gallery spaces that flow into one another and can show works of varying scales and complexity. The varying ceiling heights, ranging from 11 to 22 feet, allow for the display of large-scale installations in dialogue with more intimate spaces. With a reconfigured building layout and programming, the total gallery space will increase by nearly 50 percent.
In addition, the fifth floor will include a 1,000-square-foot cafe where visitors can pause to enjoy refreshments before continuing their exploration of the Modern and Contemporary Art galleries.
The rooftop views that New Yorkers and visitors alike have come to expect will be available year- round from indoor and outdoor spaces. The large south-facing windows in the fourth- and fifth- floor galleries will bring the iconic views of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline inside for four- season enjoyment.
Both floors will also offer direct connections to the park and the city, adding a total of approximately 18,500 square feet of outdoor space spread across the fourth- and fifth- floor terraces.
The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden, currently located on the fifth floor, will move to the fourth-floor terrace, where visitors will once again be able to enjoy art set against the backdrop of Central Park and the city skyline. In its new home on the fourth floor, space for the seasonal Cantor Roof Garden will expand from 7,500 square feet to nearly 10,000 square feet. The fifth-floor outdoor area will feature landscape designed by Thomas Woltz of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects that takes its inspiration from the layered traditions of Central Park. This outdoor area will offer visitors a place of respite where they can reconnect with the natural world and the city beyond.
Accessibility, Sustainability, and Landscape
The configuration of the new wing and its infrastructure will critically improve accessibility for all staff and visitors. The addition of a second elevator core, ramps, more entry points, and better circulation routes will offer equal access to all floors and represent a smarter use of the available space. The new building will also utilize cutting-edge design practices to dramatically reduce energy consumption in that part of the Museum.
At least a quarter of the galleries in the existing wing have southern or western exposures with light conditions that render the spaces unsafe for the long-term display of art and require significant energy to maintain appropriate temperature and humidity levels. The articulated facade and thoughtful placement of windows in the new wing, along with a below-ground mechanical space, will reduce solar gain while also maximizing the use of natural light in galleries, contributing to The Met’s overall sustainability goals.
The project also includes landscape restorations and improvements to bring the green spaces immediately around the building up to the impeccable standards set by Central Park. Following the design principles set out by the park’s original landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted, the improvements include replacing the lawn adjacent to the wing with canopy trees, low shrubs, grassy areas, and other plantings. Site landscape improvements are being designed by the Central Park Conservancy (CPC), in coordination with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) and The Met.
The Museum will continue to collaborate closely with NYC Parks and the CPC as NYC Parks advances the project through environmental review. At the same time, The Met is working toward public review by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, followed by the Public Design Commission starting in 2025.
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Press release and visualizations courtesy of The MET
Visualization by ©Filippo Bolognese. Images, courtesy of Frida Escobedo Studio
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