Acclaimed British architect David Chipperfield has been commissioned to create a new masterplan for the Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minnesota, USA. David Chipperfield's firm David Chipperfield Architects will reconfigure the existing campus, with the improvement of the museum’s facilities. 

The major redevelopment plans will address the key issues such as the building’s relationship with the neighbouring institutions, growing visitor numbers and an expanding collection.

The Minneapolis Institute of Art's plans will be developed as the first step of the museum's long-term strategy to enhance the visitor experience and to expand the community’s access to the museum as a community resource. 

The Mia, one of the nation’s leading encyclopedic art museums, got its first expansion to add new galleries to Mia's original 1915 building in 1974 by the famed mid-century modernist architect Kenzo Tange. Later, the museum opened its new major expansion and renovation on June, 2006, overhauled by American architect Michael Graves, who died in 2015. 

Michael Graves & Associates' plans included major expansion and renovation of a new 113,000-square-foot wing and 49,000 square feet of building renovation, which together added thirty-four new galleries and nearly forty percent new exhibition space to the MIA.

In the latest redevelopment plans of the museum, David Chipperfield's master plan will function as a long-range plan for Mia’s future growth and development. In addition, it will provide a framework to address several pressing needs, including improved parking facilities, additional art storage, and public gathering spaces. 

The plan also will consider potential opportunities, such as enhancing visitor circulation through the galleries and updating the museum’s restaurant and auditorium.

"We are thrilled to work with David Chipperfield," said Kaywin Feldman, Nivin and Duncan MacMillan Director and President of the museum. 

"Mia has seen tremendous growth in recent years, with repeated record-setting visitor numbers. Our growing collections, innovative exhibitions, and accessible public programs have fueled this growth, and we want to ensure we have the facilities needed to provide inspiring visitor experiences as we embrace an ever-broadening, diverse audience."

"We are confident that David Chipperfield Architects’ impressive track record and clear understanding of our museum's needs will help us achieve this goal," they added.

The museum building was originally designed by the preeminent New York architectural firm McKim, Mead and White, the original building opened its doors in 1915. Mia's permanent collection has grown from 800 works of art to more than 89,000 objects. 

The collection includes world-famous works that embody the highest levels of artistic achievement, spanning about 20,000 years and representing the world’s diverse cultures across all continents. 

The trustees of the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) have chosen David Chipperfield Architects as the firm has in impressive experience on the design of historic cultural buildings and the firm comes with refining solutions that are architecturally, socially, and intellectually coherent.

David Chipperfield Architects is currently working on the transformation of the 16th Century Procuratie Vecchie on Venice's Piazza San Marco, the remodelling of The Royal Academy Of Arts in UK, Neues Museum in Berlin, the new home of Nobel Center in Stockholm. 

All images courtesy of Minneapolis Institute of Art

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