has chosen a design firm to help augment the iconic museum with a new addition 鈥� which will increase its footprint by a third.
The New York-based firm (PAU) will design an expansion which includes more space for traveling exhibits, education programs, and a connection to the Great Lakes Science Center next door.
Rock Hall CEO Greg Harris says the firm has a lot of reverence for the existing I.M. Pei design, but 鈥渢hey also believe it鈥檚 OK to be irreverent and that whatever we build 鈥� the plan isn鈥檛 to overshadow the [current building]; we love it, we think it鈥檚 iconic and powerful 鈥� but this thing is going to play off it and amplify the space as well.
鈥淭his firm, in particular, studied the work Pei had done when he went after historic buildings [such as] when he did his expansion at the Louvre -- how did he approach it? At this point, as we work through the process, they鈥檙e going to provide something that amplifies what we have but is going to give us all this new stuff and be a bold statement on its own.鈥�
Design work will continue next year with construction slated to begin in 2022.
