The New Museum’s OMA-designed expansion will double gallery space and debut with a 150-artist exhibition exploring humanity’s technological future.
Manhattan’s only museum dedicated exclusively to contemporary art is poised for a transformative evolution.
The New Museum has unveiled plans for an ambitious 60,000-square-foot expansion designed by architectural luminaries OMA / Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas in collaboration with Cooper Robertson, set to open in autumn 2025.
This monumental development represents not merely an enlargement of physical space but a reimagining of the contemporary art museum experience for the 21st century.
A Visionary Expansion For A Forward-Thinking Institution
Since its modest beginnings in 1977 in a temporary space on Hudson Street, the New Museum has consistently positioned itself at the vanguard of artistic innovation.
True to its name, the institution has perpetually sought renewal, expanding its footprint at pivotal moments throughout its history to better serve its dual mission of supporting artists and engaging the public. This forthcoming expansion marks the most significant physical transformation in the museum’s 48-year history.
“The New Museum has always been a future-facing museum,not a place for preserving and recording history, but a place where history is made,” said Lisa Phillips, Toby Devan Lewis Director of the New Museum. “We are thrilled to be working with Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas on OMA’s first public building in New York City, ushering in a new era of possibilities for the New Museum as a vital civic resource for New Yorkers and the global arts community.”
The announcement carries particular significance in architectural circles, as it represents OMA’s first public building in New York City,a surprising milestone for the globally renowned firm co-founded by Rem Koolhaas, whose theoretical writings and built works have profoundly influenced contemporary architectural discourse for decades.
Architectural Harmony: Distinct Yet Connected
The OMA-designed expansion will stand as a complementary counterpoint to the existing SANAA-designed flagship building that has become an iconic presence on the Bowery since its completion in 2007. While the buildings will appear visually distinct from the exterior, they will function as a seamlessly integrated whole on the inside.
Shohei Shigematsu, OMA Partner, articulated the philosophical underpinning of the design: “The New Museum is an incubator for new cultural perspectives and production, and the expansion aims to embody that attitude of openness. Imagined as a highly connected yet distinct counterpart to the existing museum’s verticality and solidity, the new building will offer horizontally expansive galleries for curatorial variety, open vertical circulation, and a diversity of spaces for gathering, exchange, and creation. The building is further shaped to create an active public face,including an outdoor plaza at the ground, moments of transparency throughout the central atrium, and terraced openings at the top,that will openly engage the surrounding community and beyond.”
This architectural dialogue between the existing SANAA building,known for its distinctive stacked-box aesthetic,and the forthcoming OMA addition creates a compelling visual narrative about the evolution of contemporary architecture itself, with two of the world’s most influential firms represented side by side.
A Philanthropic Triumph Amid Challenging Times
The realisation of this ambitious expansion represents a remarkable achievement in arts philanthropy, particularly following the challenging pandemic period that severely impacted cultural institutions worldwide. To date, the New Museum has raised an impressive £118 million towards its Capital Campaign goal of £125 million, with £82 million allocated for construction costs.
The new OMA building will bear the name of the late Toby Devan Lewis, a visionary philanthropist and long-serving New Museum Trustee whose £30 million contribution to the Capital Campaign stands as the largest gift in the museum’s history. This naming recognition honours a remarkable figure in the contemporary art world who championed emerging artists and experimental institutions throughout her lifetime.
“We are extremely grateful to all of those making the New Museum’s next chapter a reality, which would not be possible without the generous support of our Board of Trustees as well as numerous individuals, foundations, and government champions of this important project,” said James-Keith Brown, President of the New Museum’s Board of Trustees. “We look forward to inaugurating the new building with the kind of ambitious exhibition for which the New Museum is known, animating our expanded home on the Bowery with a timely exploration of artists’ visions of the future.”
Architectural Features: Doubling Space, Enhancing Experience
The seven-story OMA-designed expansion will dramatically transform both the museum’s capacity and visitor experience. Most significantly, it will double the institution’s gallery space, with ceiling heights aligned across the second, third, and fourth floors to create uninterrupted connectivity between the two buildings.
Vertical circulation,often a challenge in multi-level museums,receives thoughtful attention in the design. The addition of an atrium stairway will provide both functional passage between floors and opportunities for dramatic views of the surrounding neighbourhood.
This architectural feature will also create unique spaces for site-specific art installations. Complementing this central circulation element, three additional elevators,two dedicated exclusively to gallery access,will ensure smooth visitor flow throughout the expanded museum.
The ground level will feature an enlarged lobby housing an expanded bookstore and a full-service restaurant,the latter representing a significant enhancement to the visitor amenities. Just outside, a new entrance plaza will create an open-air venue for public art installations at the architecturally significant junction of Bowery and Prince Street, further activating the museum’s relationship with its urban context.
On the building’s upper floors, a dedicated studio for artists-in-residence will support the museum’s commitment to nurturing emerging talents. A purpose-built 74-seat forum will enhance the institution’s robust programme of public events, lectures, and performances.
Perhaps most forward-thinking is the creation of a permanent home for NEW INC, the groundbreaking museum-born cultural incubator that currently supports over 120 creative entrepreneurs annually with collaborative working spaces and production facilities.
The museum’s popular seventh-floor Sky Room, known for its panoramic views of the Manhattan skyline, will double in size while maintaining its signature vistas. Three additional upper-floor terraces overlooking the Bowery will provide further opportunities for visitors to engage with the urban landscape.
Materially, the expansion employs laminated glass with metal mesh to create a façade that simultaneously recalls elements of the original SANAA building while introducing a greater degree of transparency. This thoughtful material selection ensures the two buildings will function as a cohesive architectural ensemble despite their distinct formal expressions.
Inaugural Exhibition: New Humans Memories Of The Future
The expanded New Museum will debut with an appropriately ambitious exhibition titled “New Humans: Memories of the Future,” continuing the institution’s tradition of presenting thematically complex and intellectually provocative shows. Spanning the entire museum, this landmark exhibition will explore the evolving relationship between humanity and technology through the work of more than 150 international artists, writers, scientists, architects, and filmmakers.
The exhibition will present a “diagonal history” of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, highlighting pivotal moments when technological and societal transformations catalysed new conceptions of humanity and speculative visions of possible futures. This cross-temporal approach will place contemporary artists including Sofia Al-Maria, Meriem Bennani, Pierre Huyghe, Tau Lewis, Wangechi Mutu, Precious Okoyomon, Hito Steyerl, and Anicka Yi in dialogue with twentieth-century figures such as Francis Bacon, Salvador Dalí, Ibrahim El-Salahi, H.R. Giger, Hannah Höch, El Lissitzky, and Germaine Richier.
Massimiliano Gioni, Edlis Neeson Artistic Director of the New Museum, contextualised the exhibition’s significance: “Since its founding, the New Museum has looked at art as a tool that can help us understand the world around us. New Humans is an encyclopedic, interdisciplinary exhibition that continues the Museum’s engagement with the most pressing issues of today. Through the work of more than 150 artists, writers, and cultural figures, New Humans reveals how our most terrifying contemporary concerns are in fact as old as humanity itself. As the New Museum enters an expansive new chapter in its own history, New Humans highlights the role artists play in interpreting and confronting the critical issues that will shape our collective fate.”
Major support for this inaugural exhibition comes from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, underscoring the project’s significance within the contemporary art ecosystem.
Site-Specific Commissions And Public Art
Beyond the main exhibition, the expanded museum will feature multiple site-specific commissions designed to activate the new architectural spaces. Most prominently, the museum has announced that renowned British artist Sarah Lucas will create a new work entitled “VENUS VICTORIA” as the first recipient of the Hostetler/Wrigley Sculpture Award. This biannual juried prize supports the production and exhibition of new work by women artists on the museum’s public entrance plaza.
The selection of Lucas,known for her provocative sculptural works that challenge gender stereotypes and conventional notions of sexuality,signals the museum’s continuing commitment to presenting challenging, conversation-starting art in public spaces. The placement of her work in the new entrance plaza will create an immediate visual statement about the institution’s artistic values while activating this urban space for public engagement.
Additional commissions, residencies, public programmes, institutional collaborations, and series enabled by the expanded facilities will be announced in the coming months, with the museum promising a robust activation of its enhanced capacity.
Looking Ahead: The 2026 Exhibition Schedule
While the focus remains on the 2025 opening and inaugural exhibition, the New Museum has provided a glimpse of its programming ambitions for the following year. The 2026 exhibition schedule,to be announced in fuller detail later this year,will include the first New York museum solo presentation of artist Arthur Jafa, whose powerful film and installation works exploring Black identity have garnered international acclaim.
Additionally, 2026 will see the next edition of the New Museum Triennial. Launched in 2009 as the first recurring international exhibition in New York City devoted to emerging artists from around the world, the Triennial has become an important platform for identifying significant new voices in contemporary art. The expanded facilities will undoubtedly allow this signature programme to evolve in scale and ambition.
The New Museum In Context: Cultural Significance And Urban Impact
The expansion of the New Museum represents more than just an institutional milestone; it constitutes a significant development in the ongoing cultural evolution of Lower Manhattan. Since relocating to the Bowery in 2007, the museum has played a pivotal role in the neighbourhood’s transformation from a historically marginalised area to a vibrant cultural district.
This expanded presence,doubling the museum’s physical footprint on the Bowery,reinforces New York City’s position as a global centre for contemporary art at a time when other cultural capitals are making significant investments in their contemporary art infrastructure. It also represents a vote of confidence in the future of cultural tourism and in-person art experiences following the disruptions of the pandemic era.
The museum’s decision to commission OMA rather than returning to SANAA (designers of the original Bowery building) speaks to an institutional willingness to embrace architectural dialogue and evolution rather than stylistic consistency. This approach mirrors the museum’s programmatic focus on artistic innovation and experimentation.
A Continuing Legacy Of Innovation
As the New Museum approaches the half-century mark, this expansion reinforces its founding ethos as an institution perpetually in the process of becoming new. From its modest beginnings to its current position as a globally recognised contemporary art museum, the institution has consistently embraced transformation as central to its identity.
The OMA-designed expansion represents the most ambitious manifestation of this philosophy to date, creating new possibilities for artistic expression, public engagement, and institutional innovation. When it opens in autumn 2025, the expanded New Museum will offer not just additional square footage but a reimagined framework for experiencing contemporary art in the twenty-first century.
Through thoughtful architectural design, ambitious programming, and a commitment to nurturing creative talents across disciplines, the expanded New Museum promises to honour its past while boldly stepping into the future,continuing to serve as a vital cultural resource for New York City and the global art community for decades to come.
The expanded New Museum, featuring OMA’s first public building in New York City, is scheduled to open in fall 2025.
