Dutch architect Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) is to work with Russian designer Reserve on the renovation of the New Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.
At 61,000 sq m, the museum is the largest in Russia. However, it has been extended on multiple occasions since it opened in 1983, and this has fragmented the hallways and large exhibition spaces.
OMA’s redesign will introduce four museum sectors: art storage, an education centre, the collection, and a festival hall. Each sector will have a distinct architectural style and will be linked by a pedestrian route along the embankment of the Moscow River.
The New Tretyakov houses Russian art, including abstract, modernist and avant-garde works from Kazimir Malevich, Wassily Kandinsky, Marc Chagall and Aleksandr Deyneka.
Rem Koolhaas, OMA’s founding partner, said: "Our proposal is a reconsideration of the New Tretyakov, focusing on improving its spatial infrastructure and the elimination of dysfunctional parts.
"We also undo the absolute separation between museum and the House of Artist, and remove a number of walls to make the components more accessible and visible.
"Because of its size, it is almost impossible to consider it as a homogeneous entity; modern interventions unaffordable in Soviet times, such as escalators, improve circulation and draw together the autonomous elements of the museum complex."
Images courtesy of OMA
