A $75m (€69.9m, £50.8m) renovation at the Walker Art Center will create a new cultural district in Minneapolis, US.
Locally-headquartered architects HGA and Netherlands-based Inside Outside will oversee the project, which will include the construction of a new entrance pavilion as well as landscaping improvements to the art museum’s campus.
The plans will directly connect the Walker to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, situated opposite, creating a 76,890sq m (827,640sq ft) unified cultural area. The museum said in a statement it wanted to build a “more welcoming, community-oriented, and environmentally sustainable campus for the next generation”. The sculpture garden provides a gateway into downtown Minneapolis and will eventually link to a planned theatre and arts district there, expanding the cultural centre still further.
HGA’s new pavilion, on the north side of the Walker, will be made mostly from glass and will feature a grass roof and an expanded cafe. A hill west of the building will be re-contoured, with new trees added, but will remain an open field for outdoor events. A staircase beside the pavilion will provide access to hillside pathways and a new seasonal entrance to the Walker’s shop and theatre.
About $50m (€46.6m, £33.8m) in private donations has been raised for the project, and the Walker has also received $10m (€9.3m, £6.8m) in public money for the upgrade to the garden.
Groundbreaking is scheduled for September 2015, with the Walker renovation set for completion in Q3 2016. The sculpture garden should reopen to the public in Q2 2017.
