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Museum expansions balance new galleries with existing architecture by deciding what to preserve, where new space can go, and how visitors will move between the two. The answer varies by site: projects may add a distinct pavilion, connect new construction to an existing building, build below ground, or redesign space within the current footprint. Gallery capacity is only one part of the brief; accessibility, infrastructure, conservation, education, sustainability, public space, and connections to the surrounding neighborhood can shape the design as much as the collection does.
For a practical comparison, ask three questions of each proposal: what does it protect, what does it add, and how does it change the visitor’s route? The examples below show different ways institutions have approached that balance—not a universal formula or a ranking of which strategy works best.
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What an expansion has to balance
A museum does not expand into an empty diagram. An addition must relate to existing galleries and circulation, while also responding to the building’s architecture and its setting. Depending on the project, the brief can include exhibition space, better access, updated infrastructure, conservation facilities, education rooms, sustainability goals, community amenities, and a stronger connection to streets or gardens.
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That makes “more gallery area” an incomplete measure of a project. A proposal could create exhibition space while also improving the entry sequence or providing facilities that were not part of the visitor’s former route. Conversely, a large area figure alone does not show whether the new and old spaces function as a coherent museum, whether a historic building’s character is respected, or what happens to outdoor and public space.
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Useful evaluation therefore considers the whole relationship: the location and form of new construction; the amount of existing fabric affected; the legibility of routes between old and new; and the other institutional or public needs the project must serve.
Where the new space can go
Placement is the first major design choice. A museum may work within its existing footprint, attach a new volume, extend into a historic setting, or put a substantial portion of an expansion below grade. Each approach changes what must be resolved at the boundary between old and new.
Redesign within the existing footprint
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Tang Wing project is described as a redesigned wing that remains within the existing building footprint. The Met’s 2026 press release describes the redesigned wing as 126,000 square feet. The museum’s 2024 design announcement, describing the planned design, said it would add more than 70,000 square feet for display and increase the wing’s gallery space by nearly 50 percent. These are separate descriptions from different release dates, and their figures should not be treated as interchangeable: one is the stated size of the redesigned wing, while the others describe planned display space and gallery-space growth.
The 2024 announcement describes a five-story design no higher than the original 1880 wing. The project also addresses accessibility, infrastructure, and sustainability alongside gallery space. This is a useful example of how a footprint constraint can make the redesign of an existing wing—not simply an outward addition—the central architectural task.
Build below grade
The Morgan describes more than half of its expansion’s square footage as below ground. It also describes modestly sized new buildings intended to respect its traditional architecture and the surrounding neighborhood. Subterranean area can be part of a solution when the institution wants to limit the visible scale of new construction, but the Morgan example should be read as a project-specific response, not proof that building below grade is appropriate everywhere.
When considering this approach, a project team should explain how below-ground space connects to the museum’s public route and how the proposal handles the institution’s other requirements. The available description establishes the Morgan’s placement strategy and design intent; it does not provide a comparative account of construction cost, conservation results, or visitor outcomes.
Extend into a historic setting
The Museo del Prado’s Jerónimos project created new exhibition galleries while restoring the former cloister. The Prado says Rafael Moneo’s design respects the original building, its surroundings, and adjoining historic structures. The project therefore combines new space with restoration rather than treating the historic setting as a constraint to remove.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFor a proposal in a historic context, the important question is not only whether new architecture looks different or similar. It is also where the addition sits, how it relates to neighboring structures, and what existing fabric is retained or restored. The Prado’s description gives a clear example of those considerations being addressed together.
Add a distinct volume
The Joslyn Art Museum describes its Hawks Pavilion as an extension of the museum complex. The pavilion added galleries, a new entry atrium, a shop, and community space. Joslyn reports that the project expanded gallery space by more than 40 percent. That is the museum’s figure for this project, not a benchmark for how much gallery space other expansions should add.
A distinct pavilion can make the new part of a museum legible as an addition while still joining a larger complex. For the Joslyn project, the stated program makes clear that the new volume was intended to support more than exhibition rooms: it also included entry, retail, and community functions.
Integrate new and existing buildings
SFMOMA describes its expansion by Snøhetta as integrating the existing Mario Botta-designed museum, which was renovated during the project. The expansion also added pedestrian connections, daylight, terraces, and gardens, and the museum describes links between the institution, surrounding streets, and outdoor space.
This example shows why integration is about more than attaching two buildings. The design description connects the architectural relationship to the visitor’s movement and to the museum’s edges: how people reach it, how they pass through it, and how indoor and outdoor areas meet.
How the project approaches compare
The following comparison focuses on what each institution says its project does. It does not rank the strategies: the projects differ in their sites, briefs, and descriptions, and the published figures do not use a single stated measurement definition.
| Project | Where the work goes | What the project description emphasizes | Stated area figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tang Wing | Redesigned within the existing building footprint | Gallery space, accessibility, infrastructure, and sustainability; the 2024 design was described as five stories and no higher than the original 1880 wing | 2026: 126,000 square feet for the redesigned wing. 2024: more than 70,000 square feet of planned display space and a nearly 50 percent planned increase in wing gallery space |
| Morgan Library & Museum expansion | More than half of the expansion’s square footage is below ground | Modest new buildings respectful of the Morgan’s traditional architecture and neighborhood | More than half below ground, as described by the Morgan |
| Prado, Jerónimos project | New galleries in a historic setting, alongside restoration of the former cloister | Respect for the original building, surroundings, and adjoining historic structures | |
| SFMOMA expansion | Integrated with the existing Mario Botta-designed museum | Renovation of the existing building, pedestrian connections, daylight, terraces, gardens, and links to surrounding streets and outdoor space | |
| Joslyn Art Museum, Hawks Pavilion | New pavilion extending from the museum complex | Galleries, a new entry atrium, a shop, and community space | Joslyn reports gallery space expanded by more than 40 percent |
| Frick project | Expansion combined with renewal of the existing facility | Preserving access to the original residence while adding exhibition, conservation, and education facilities |
The figures in the table answer different questions. The Met’s 2026 figure describes the redesigned wing’s size; its 2024 figures describe planned display area and gallery-space growth. Joslyn’s percentage describes that museum’s reported gallery-space increase. They should not be read as a like-for-like comparison of added floor area or as evidence that one project is more successful.
What “respecting” existing architecture means in practice
Respect for an older building does not require every new element to imitate it. The cases above show several ways a project can acknowledge the existing architecture: keeping a redesign within the footprint and below the original wing’s height, placing much of an expansion below ground, restoring a historic cloister while adding galleries, or integrating an addition with a renovated existing museum.
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The Morgan describes its new buildings as modest in scale and respectful of traditional architecture and neighborhood context. The Prado specifically names the original building, its setting, and neighboring historic structures. Those descriptions point to a wider design test than façade treatment alone: the addition’s location, height, scale, relationship to surrounding buildings, and effect on the historic fabric all matter.
For a construction proposal, it helps to make that test explicit. Identify which parts of the existing building are being retained, restored, altered, or connected to new work. Explain how the addition relates in scale and position to the existing building and nearby context. Then show the visitor route through those spaces. These are questions for evaluating a proposal, not claims that one visual style or construction method is inherently the most respectful.
Make the visitor route part of the design
A visitor experiences an expansion as a sequence, not as a square-footage figure. Where is the entrance? How does a person find the new galleries from the older ones? Are outdoor areas or neighboring streets part of the connection? Do access improvements and the infrastructure needed to operate the museum sit alongside the exhibition plan?
SFMOMA’s description foregrounds pedestrian connections, daylight, terraces, gardens, and links to the surrounding streets. The Joslyn lists a new entry atrium alongside galleries, a shop, and community space. The Frick describes keeping access to its original residence while adding exhibition, conservation, and education facilities. These examples put arrival and movement alongside the new program rather than treating them as afterthoughts.
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When comparing designs, ask the institution or project team to show the route from the public realm through the entrance and into both the existing and new parts of the museum. The drawing should make clear which spaces are connected, where a visitor changes direction or level, and how the expansion relates to outdoor space where that is part of the proposal. Accessibility belongs in the same conversation: the Met explicitly includes it among the Tang Wing project’s concerns.
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Account for the work beyond galleries
Museums need more than display rooms. The project examples identify infrastructure, accessibility, sustainability, conservation, education, shops, community space, and public amenities as part of the expansion or renewal brief. A design comparison that records only gallery area can therefore miss the reason for important parts of the work.
The Met’s Tang Wing project pairs gallery goals with accessibility, infrastructure, and sustainability. The Frick describes the addition of conservation and education facilities while preserving visitor access to its original residence. Joslyn’s pavilion includes a shop and community space as well as galleries and an entry atrium. The Morgan’s description places its response in relation to both traditional architecture and the surrounding neighborhood.
For a useful review, separate the project’s stated uses instead of combining them into a single area claim. Ask what is intended for exhibitions, what supports conservation or education, what changes the visitor experience, and what serves public or community use. The available project descriptions establish these program elements for the named cases, but they do not provide a common area breakdown for comparing every function.
A practical framework for reviewing an expansion
Use the following sequence to compare proposals without assuming that the same design strategy suits every museum.
- Define what the project must provide. List the stated needs: galleries, accessibility, infrastructure, conservation, education, sustainability, visitor facilities, neighborhood connections, or public space. Keep gallery capacity visible, but do not use it as a substitute for the whole brief.
- Locate the new area. Establish whether the proposal works within the existing footprint, adds a connected or distinct volume, restores and extends into a historic setting, uses below-grade space, or combines several approaches.
- Identify what is protected and changed. Record the existing architecture and fabric the project says it will retain, restore, renovate, or connect to new work. Compare the proposal’s height, scale, and position with the building and its surroundings when those details are stated.
- Trace the visitor’s movement. Follow the route from the street or public space to the entrance, through the existing building, and into the new areas. Note where the project describes links, daylight, outdoor areas, or access improvements.
- Separate the measurements. Label each figure as total wing size, planned display area, gallery-space increase, or another explicitly stated measure. Keep the project, release date, and qualification attached to it.
- Mark what the description does not establish. Do not infer cost, conservation results, or visitor outcomes from an architectural description or area figure. Those require evidence beyond a project’s stated design intent.
This sequence turns the discussion from “How much space is being added?” into “What does this particular project add, where does it go, and how does it work with the building and its setting?”
What the available project descriptions can—and cannot—show
The examples establish a range of strategies and institutional design intentions. They do not establish a universal best practice, a cost comparison, a systematic account of conservation outcomes, or a post-occupancy comparison of visitor experience. Nor do the stated area figures share a demonstrated common definition. The Met’s two descriptions are separated by release date and refer to different measures; Joslyn’s percentage is its own project claim, and the cited result does not provide a publication year.
That distinction matters when using these projects to inform a new commission. Project descriptions can explain choices and goals, but they are not interchangeable with evaluations of performance after construction. A sound comparison should keep stated intentions, quantified area, and demonstrated outcomes separate—and should not turn one institution’s solution into a rule for every historic or urban site.
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