St. Louis art museum unveils design for $1.25 million expansion

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis art museum Monday revealed the design for its $125 million expansion project.

It will increase the number of museum galleries, providing additional space for the museum's collection of more than 30,000 objects and for touring shows.

The museum's existing Beaux Arts-style structure in Forest Park was designed for the 1904 World's Fair by architect Cass Gilbert. The new design calls for an addition to the south and east of the original building with a dark, polished concrete facade that will incorporate rock taken from a river in Missouri.

The plan provides for more than 80,000 square feet of new galleries, public space and collections support, museum officials said in a statement. The new galleries and public spaces will feature skylights and floor-to-ceiling windows, designed so that the artwork inside will still be protected from the light.

The expansion was designed by London-based architect David Chipperfield. He was recognized in October with England's highest honor for architecture, the Royal Institute of British Architects' James Stirling Prize.

"David Chipperfield's design pays thoughtful and elegant homage to Cass Gilbert while creating modern spaces to house the museum's extraordinary holdings," the art museum's director, Brent Benjamin, said in a statement.

David Chipperfield Architects has won several prestigious commissions, including the restoration of the Neues Museum and master plan for Museum Island in Berlin; the America's Cup Pavilion in Valencia, Spain; and the Museum of Modern Literature in Marbach, Germany.

Projects in the United States include the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa, and the Des Moines Central Library.

At the St. Louis Art Museum, parking will be relocated into a 300-space, underground parking garage. The project also will include a new restaurant and a new entrance for the arrival of groups.

Museum officials expect work to begin late next year and be completed in 2011.

The current facility will also be improved, with about 13,000 square feet of space renovated for education, classroom and public use, as well as additional permanent collection galleries.

The museum also announced a new, $125 million capital campaign. It already has received $100 million in commitments from members of the museum's boards and from community leaders and philanthropists.