The Met Reveals Modern Redesign Plans For Museum's Contemporary Wing

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The Metropolitan Museum of Art has just released renderings for a major redesign of its Oscar L. Tang and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Wing, which would increase gallery space by more than 50 percent and bring modern, airy rooms to the historic building, museum administrators said.

The new wing, set to open in 2030, includes a three-story base with a recessed fourth floor and a further setback fifth floor, which will include a cafe.

Inside, the new wing will house the museum's ever-growing collection of 20th and 21st-century art and feature different-sized rooms with varied ceiling heights to accommodate large-scale works, museum spokespeople said.

The plans for the wing, released Tuesday, were designed by architect Frida Escobedo, who would be the first woman architect to work on the museum in its 154-year existence, museum officials said.

“As stewards of one of the most outstanding collections of 20th- and 21st-century art, The Met has a responsibility to New York City and the world to present the art of our time in exceptionally compelling, scholarly, and innovative displays that illuminate the rich —and at times surprising— connections that can be drawn across our collection of 5,000 years of art history," Max Hollein, The Met's CEO, said.

According to the museum, the five-story wing will remain within the existing building's 123,000-square-foot footprint and rise only as high as the original height of the 1880 wing in the center of the museum complex.

Currently, the existing wing's layout has elevators, stairs, restrooms, and mechanical spaces interrupting the flow of visitors to the collection, and one of the existing floors is only accessible by a staircase making it inaccessible, the museum said.

"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," Escobedo said.

The museum reached a $550 million fundraising goal this May for the new wing, and the museum administrators say building the wing will create around 4,000 union jobs.

Now, the plan will advance through the city's environmental review process, before going through the public review process at the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

“The Tang Wing is a bold endeavor to expand our understanding of the role of art in New York’s culture and our society," New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.

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