Art Institute hires Barcelona-based architects for new master plan

The Art Institute of Chicago has hired a Barcelona-based architecture firm, Barozzi/Veiga, to dream big on a master plan for the museum.

On Tuesday, the Art Institute’s director James Rondeau introduced the architects to the museum’s board, according to the Chicago Tribune. The firm studied the institution’s campus for the past two years for the commission, which is expected to bring a “profound transformation,” the newspaper said. The iconic lions and Modern Wing doors will stay though.

The architects are recognized worldwide for their designs. Most notably the sharp white Philharmonic Hall in Sczecin, Poland which won the Mies Van der Rohe Award in 2015.

The last significant change to the Art Institute was the addition of the Modern Wing designed by Renzo Piano in 2009. Unlike that commission, Rondeau and the architects are just in the very preliminary stages.

According to the Tribune, Barozzi and Veiga are “formulating ideas aimed at making an inward-looking museum rooted in the 20th century more extroverted and modern.”

It’s not clear yet, but that could include new buildings, redesigning existing structures, and changing how visitors view the art. The museum hopes to see a proposal from the firm within 18 months that shows a financially reasonable, multi-year plan.

One the places the firm would like the focus on updating is the bridge that passes over the train tracks, originally called Gunsaulus Hall. The pair see the space as having potential as a new “centrality.”