Shohei Shigematsu/OMA to design new Albright-Knox Art Gallery expansion in Buffalo

Out of a star-studded shortlist, the OMA team led by Shohei Shigematsu was recently selected to design the Albright-Knox Art Gallery expansion in Buffalo, New York. Titled AK360, the project is the museum's first expansion in the last 50 years and will also be OMA's first U.S.-based art museum project.

Located beside Frederick Law Olmsted's Delaware Park, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery spent more than a decade setting their sights on expanding and upgrading their facilities to accommodate a growing collection and keep up with 21st-century demands. Although the project's name may sound odd, AK360 represents the fact that this will be the Albright-Knox's third expansion over its 154-year history, with each expansion occurring at approximately 60-year intervals. Architect Edward Brodhead Green first completed the Beaux Arts-style museum in 1905, followed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill constructing the second and more modernized expansion in 1962. In 2014, the museum's Board of Directors initiated an ambitious redevelopment project for the museum.

For this proposed $80 million expansion, Albright-Knox sought the most innovative and historically sensitive approaches in the competition, according to Albright-Knox Board President Tom Hyde. The competition finalists presented renderings and models of potential new buildings, but Albright-Knox doesn't plan on releasing any of those designs unfortunately. Hyde said the decision was based on the museum's concern with promoting design concepts that they have ‘no intention of building’.

Shohei Shigematsu and his team will spend the next year working alongside the museum and the local Buffalo community to ultimately develop an architectural vision for the new Albright-Knox. Shigematsu stated: “We are thrilled to be part of this project, which will be important for many reasons including the convergence of historically significant architecture in Buffalo, fostering a more intimate dialogue with the Olmsted landscape setting, answering the need for new exhibition space to display the Albright-Knox’s renowned collection, and positioning the museum to take a leading role in the city’s broader resurgence.”