Virginia Museum Reveals $100M Master Plan

RICHMOND, VA-Officials behind the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts have divulged the master plan for the $100-million expansion project that is expected to further enhance the arts institution’s prominence as a cultural destination. Architect Rick Mather of London’s Rick Mather Architects is behind the design of the new additions to the 380,000-sf space as well as the improvements designed to bring uniformity to the entire 13.5-acre museum campus.

Changes to the museum complex–which first opened its doors in 1936 and stands as the oldest state museum in Virginia–will include the addition of 100,000 sf of gallery space, a new atrium connecting the new with the old and a new library. The added gallery space will expand the current display areas by 50%. Also, a 3.5-acre parking lot on the property will be redeveloped as the E. Claiborne and Lora Robins Sculpture Garden. Vehicles will be accommodated by a new and artfully camouflaged parking deck with 600 spaces.

“In this design, Rick Mather proposes a new ideal for how we come together as citizens to celebrate culture in public places, one that blurs the threshold between indoor and outdoor spaces, and between architecture and landscape design,” VMFA director Dr. Michael Brand notes.