Pushkin Museum in Moscow, Russia, will be refurbished, while listed villas around the site will be renovated to create a new cultural quarter in the heart of the city.

The original grand entrance to the 1912 museum will be reinstated, its glazed roof restored and its gallery space expanded.

Two existing courtyards within the footprint of the building will also be glazed to provide year-round spaces and access to new subterranean exhibition spaces will be accessed via the west courtyard.

The new pedestrianised and tree-lined quarter will also include a boutique hotel, an exhibition building, a 600-seat multi-functional concert hall and a library.

Norman Foster of architects Foster + Partners said: “I am very excited by this extraordinary project to create a cultural quarter for the Pushkin Museum and for Moscow.

“Improvements to the historic buildings and better provisions for back-of-house facilities will make the Pushkin’s magnificent collections more accessible and part of a wider destination.”