SFMOMA Gathers Big Names for Expansion Project

Some of the biggest names in architecture are among the shortlisted firms for the planned expansion for the Mario Botta-designed home of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The museum announced in early February to have raised $250 Million for the ambitious project that is going to house the renowned art collection of Donald Fisher, founder of the GAP clothing company who died in September 2009.

Although SFMOMA officials haven’t formally released a list yet, the leaked list of considered architects includes Renzo Piano, Foster and Partners, Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), Diller, Scofidio & Renfro, Peter Zumthor, David Adjaye, TEN Arquitectos, Steven Holl, and also Snøhetta.

The museum had engaged David Meckel, FAIA, director of research and planning at California College of the Arts, to advise the committee and serve as a resource in the process. The final selection will be ratified by the full Board of Trustees. Meckel said: “You have the luxury of time here. What the committee is doing is keeping an open mind and not assuming that people who have not built six museums don’t know what they are doing. I think this is in good hands. This is a deliberative process with people who are not under the gun. They are going to do the right thing.”

SFMOMA’s expansion will provide an additional 100,000 square feet of gallery and public space, greatly enhancing and expanding both the presentation of art in all areas of its collections—painting and sculpture, photography, architecture and design, media arts—and its educational programs. The expansion will also include 40,000 square feet of support space, including larger and more advanced conservation facilities and an expanded library.

Following selection of the architect, additional site planning, and approval from local agencies, SFMOMA will develop a new wing on Howard Street (between Third and New Montgomery streets) extending north across Natoma Street, which will connect to the rear of the museum along the southern facade—creating galleries that will merge seamlessly with the existing museum.

The museum plans to relocate administrative support space from the current buildings into the new facility, providing more than 13,000 square feet of new gallery and public space in its original building, while consolidating all staff offices to one on-site location. In addition, the expansion will include a new entry on Minna Street (which runs along the museum’s northern facade) to improve access for school groups and for visitors to the museum’s Phyllis Wattis Theater for public programming.

SFMOMA’s current Mario Botta-designed building is 225,000 square feet with nearly 65,000 square feet of galleries, including the 14,400-square-foot Rooftop Garden.

The museum will announce the architect selected to design the expansion in fall 2010.