The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art unveiled preliminary design details for its Snohetta-designed expansion. The 225,000-square-foot addition will run along the existing museum building designed by Mario Botta to provide SFMoMA with more room for its gallery spaces, libraries and classrooms so as to accommodate the tremendous growth of the museum’s demographic, educational
programs and collection. It will also provide public access to a hidden area behind the fortress-like museum building and establish a stronger connection with the city’s urban fabric.
The sloped expansion will be fifty feet higher than the neighboring Botta building and will be accessible from two sides, aligning with the new Transbay Transit Center under construction two blocks away from the museum. The upper levels of the addition will be pulled back to create terraces, opening the space between the two museum building to receive more sunlight and facilitate additional spaces for visitors.
The building will feature a street-level gallery on Howard Street which will be enclosed in glass from three sides, providing views of the art and new public spaces. A large vertical garden- largest public living wall comprised of native plants from the San Francisco Bay Area- will be built within the complex.
The construction of SFMOMA’s expansion started the end of May 2013, with the reopening of the museum planned for 2016.