A rendering of the west-side exterior of the McGlothlin Wing II expansion planned for the VMFA, which would bring new gallery space to the art museum. (Images courtesy of SmithGroup)
The VMFA’s largest expansion project in its nearly 90-year history has hit a snag.
The state Art and Architectural Review Board (AARB) rejected the design proposal for a 173,000-square-foot expansion being planned by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
During a presentation to the board by VMFA’s design team, some board members voiced concerns about the size and shape of the new wing, among other issues with the project.
The VMFA is seeking state approval for the upcoming McGlothlin Wing II, which would bring new gallery space for American, African and contemporary art and other facilities to the art museum on Arthur Ashe Boulevard.
Museum CEO Alex Nyerges told BizSense shortly after the vote on Friday that VMFA remained committed to the project. He said the $261 million project’s scope and budget has already been approved by the General Assembly, and though the AARB had qualms about the design, the museum wasn’t in a position to scale back the scope.
“We’re going to build the building,” Nyerges said. “We’ll do what we have to do and we’ll keep moving.”
The AARB is an advisory board to the governor’s office that offers recommendations on the design of state government buildings, including the state-owned VMFA.
The board’s votes are recommendations, and ultimately the Department of General Services director makes the final decision on project proposals. The VMFA needs approval before it can proceed with the construction of the new wing.
While AARB member Anca Lipan complimented some design elements of the new wing, including efforts to aesthetically weave it into the styles of other additions made to the VMFA over the decades, she worried the new wing would be too imposing for its location in the Museum District. The new wing would be built on the museum’s south and west sides, overlooking the intersection of Grove and Colonial avenues.
“I appreciate very much the texture that you all are introducing and the relationship to the history and the column flutes. I still think this, on Grove Avenue, is massive. The length of this facade is also quite overwhelming and the overhang doesn’t really help that,” she said, echoing similar concerns made by others on the board.
The proposed 173,000-square-foot McGlothlin Wing II at the VMFA, as seen from the north.
The design team said it sought to be sensitive to the neighborhood and noted the project was limited in its ability to build underground. The wing also was designed to minimize impacts on the E. Claiborne and Lora Robins Sculpture Garden.
“Because of the high water table, we were constrained and can’t go down below,” said Dayton Schroeter of SmithGroup, the architecture firm tapped to handle the project. “We’re trying to keep (the building) as low as possible.”
The AARB voted 3-1 to deny the project, with two abstentions.
The VMFA project is expected to return to the board for another review at a future meeting. How the museum might attempt to work around the AARB’s concerns would be determined after a review of the board’s comments, VMFA spokeswoman Jan Hatchette said at the meeting.
This month’s AARB hearing comes after the VMFA unveiled new preliminary architectural renderings of the expansion project in October, ahead of plans to break ground on the wing next year.
The proposed McGlothlin Wing II would feature about 30,000 square feet of American art gallery space, in addition to about 8,600 square feet devoted to African art and another 12,400 square feet of contemporary art gallery space.
The wing would add a new special exhibition gallery suite of about 12,000 square feet. The expansion also has a special events venue with seating for 500 people as well as a cafe and bar, which will be the museum’s fourth eatery concept alongside the restaurant Amuse, Best Cafe and tea shop Floris.
Once the expansion and renovations are completed, the VMFA says it will be able to display more art and accommodate more visitors.
In addition to the expansion, the $261 million project also involves renovations to 45,000 square feet of existing space at the museum, work that is already underway. The museum’s Leslie Cheek Theater is nearing completion on a round of renovations, and The Richmond Ballet is planning to move its studio series to the museum’s theater in March.
The VMFA calls the expansion project the largest in its history, and comes as the fifth expansion project over the decades since the museum opened in 1936. The museum this fall shared plans to start construction of the new wing in late 2025 and open it in 2028.
The museum would remain open during the project, which is being funded by state money and donations to the organization.
Gilbane Building Co. is the project’s construction manager.
VMFA’s project has been a few years in the making. The museum previously anticipated in 2022 that the project would cost $190 million, but rising construction costs have translated into a higher price tag for a project that has maintained the same scope since then, Nyerges said.
The VMFA started design work for the project in 2021, and over the past two years has held meetings with the public and heard from 3,500 survey participants to incorporate public feedback into the project. The museum said that common feedback was a desire for better accessibility, more connectivity between the outdoor and indoor spaces and preservation of the sculpture garden, among other things.
A rendering of the west-side exterior of the McGlothlin Wing II expansion planned for the VMFA, which would bring new gallery space to the art museum. (Images courtesy of SmithGroup)
The VMFA’s largest expansion project in its nearly 90-year history has hit a snag.
The state Art and Architectural Review Board (AARB) rejected the design proposal for a 173,000-square-foot expansion being planned by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
During a presentation to the board by VMFA’s design team, some board members voiced concerns about the size and shape of the new wing, among other issues with the project.
The VMFA is seeking state approval for the upcoming McGlothlin Wing II, which would bring new gallery space for American, African and contemporary art and other facilities to the art museum on Arthur Ashe Boulevard.
Museum CEO Alex Nyerges told BizSense shortly after the vote on Friday that VMFA remained committed to the project. He said the $261 million project’s scope and budget has already been approved by the General Assembly, and though the AARB had qualms about the design, the museum wasn’t in a position to scale back the scope.
“We’re going to build the building,” Nyerges said. “We’ll do what we have to do and we’ll keep moving.”
The AARB is an advisory board to the governor’s office that offers recommendations on the design of state government buildings, including the state-owned VMFA.
The board’s votes are recommendations, and ultimately the Department of General Services director makes the final decision on project proposals. The VMFA needs approval before it can proceed with the construction of the new wing.
While AARB member Anca Lipan complimented some design elements of the new wing, including efforts to aesthetically weave it into the styles of other additions made to the VMFA over the decades, she worried the new wing would be too imposing for its location in the Museum District. The new wing would be built on the museum’s south and west sides, overlooking the intersection of Grove and Colonial avenues.
“I appreciate very much the texture that you all are introducing and the relationship to the history and the column flutes. I still think this, on Grove Avenue, is massive. The length of this facade is also quite overwhelming and the overhang doesn’t really help that,” she said, echoing similar concerns made by others on the board.
The proposed 173,000-square-foot McGlothlin Wing II at the VMFA, as seen from the north.
The design team said it sought to be sensitive to the neighborhood and noted the project was limited in its ability to build underground. The wing also was designed to minimize impacts on the E. Claiborne and Lora Robins Sculpture Garden.
“Because of the high water table, we were constrained and can’t go down below,” said Dayton Schroeter of SmithGroup, the architecture firm tapped to handle the project. “We’re trying to keep (the building) as low as possible.”
The AARB voted 3-1 to deny the project, with two abstentions.
The VMFA project is expected to return to the board for another review at a future meeting. How the museum might attempt to work around the AARB’s concerns would be determined after a review of the board’s comments, VMFA spokeswoman Jan Hatchette said at the meeting.
This month’s AARB hearing comes after the VMFA unveiled new preliminary architectural renderings of the expansion project in October, ahead of plans to break ground on the wing next year.
The proposed McGlothlin Wing II would feature about 30,000 square feet of American art gallery space, in addition to about 8,600 square feet devoted to African art and another 12,400 square feet of contemporary art gallery space.
The wing would add a new special exhibition gallery suite of about 12,000 square feet. The expansion also has a special events venue with seating for 500 people as well as a cafe and bar, which will be the museum’s fourth eatery concept alongside the restaurant Amuse, Best Cafe and tea shop Floris.
Once the expansion and renovations are completed, the VMFA says it will be able to display more art and accommodate more visitors.
In addition to the expansion, the $261 million project also involves renovations to 45,000 square feet of existing space at the museum, work that is already underway. The museum’s Leslie Cheek Theater is nearing completion on a round of renovations, and The Richmond Ballet is planning to move its studio series to the museum’s theater in March.
The VMFA calls the expansion project the largest in its history, and comes as the fifth expansion project over the decades since the museum opened in 1936. The museum this fall shared plans to start construction of the new wing in late 2025 and open it in 2028.
The museum would remain open during the project, which is being funded by state money and donations to the organization.
Gilbane Building Co. is the project’s construction manager.
VMFA’s project has been a few years in the making. The museum previously anticipated in 2022 that the project would cost $190 million, but rising construction costs have translated into a higher price tag for a project that has maintained the same scope since then, Nyerges said.
The VMFA started design work for the project in 2021, and over the past two years has held meetings with the public and heard from 3,500 survey participants to incorporate public feedback into the project. The museum said that common feedback was a desire for better accessibility, more connectivity between the outdoor and indoor spaces and preservation of the sculpture garden, among other things.
Amazing that the architecture review board has presided over so many atrocities around capitol square (including demolition of the excellent 1922 and 1964 additions to the VA Life Insurance Building) and elsewhere has chosen to make an issue of this project, which far exceed the standards of other state buildings. As for the relationship of scale to the Museum District, we really need to move past this idea that different scales are inherently bad. Contrast is interesting — I’d like to see more of it. No one complains about the comparatively massive 7 story Kensington Court apartments that sit directly… Read more »
Note:
Kensington Court apartments was originally home to the former Johnston – Willis hospital built sometime I believe in the 1920’s…
Richmond needed another hospital then …no one complained.
That’s right–Kensington Court is the earlier location of Johnston-Willis Hospital, from 1923-1980. Older than the VMFA, from the 1930s.
The Life of Virginia building was a work of art ..yes you are correct, it never should have been demolished.
All government does in get in the way. Ridiculous.
It’s a government building so… it’s to be expected.
I agree…I love the VMFA but this design is too massive, too imposing on the neighborhood. Unfortunately this seems to be a new trend in the metro area…Ex. Libby & Patterson, the area around the old Westhampton theater & numerous apartment/condo complexes.. up, up & away with little regard for the surrounding environment or architecture.
“Imposing”? What a lame excuse.
yes imposing…”over the top, too much.” the same way the new apt./condo complex at Hamilton & Monument is…however it is juz a critique or comment not actually a criticism. Everything VMFA does is first class. Their money & financing is on display. Suspect in the future they will get their way. I have lived on the boulevard in the past, now Arthur Ash….the museum is an asset however it is becoming really really big.
I do not find the new building on Monument imposing, and we need it.
I do wish it weren’t ugly. It’s a sadly ugly building.
I really think if I lived in the area I would want this project to be build in that it’s a super cool project compared to 95% of what could possibly be built in the area. Also it would be cool to have one of the United States largest art museums.
I think the Museum should engage the street on Grove with more than a blank wall, but I can’t tell from this whether it is doing so or not.
Making the project smaller seems like a bad idea though
I think they left the Grove Ave. view out of the press materials on purpose. https://vmfa.museum/pressroom/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/PressReleaseExpansionRendering.pdf
I had a similar thought. Which makes me think it will be a blank wall.
I don’t care if they build it taller as long as they keep the streetscape lively.
Currently, the Grove Ave elevation is a loading dock behind a fancy gate. Hopefully this will be changed.
that’s really not good.
I agree that the project is massive and lacks any relationship to the adjacent neighborhood. It also has no character or scale. The fluting on the facade is underwhelming
Beyond this phase, I don’t see how the VMFA could possibly expand any further with this kind of bureaucratic muck standing in the way.
As a Museum District resident, I say, yes, it would be great to have this world class facility in my neighborhood. It fits well with the building and the scale differentiation is consistent with the building and aesthetically additive the district and our community.
Thank you!! Well said! Truly, this museum IS world class. It has gained – an continues to gain – national (and I’d suspect, even international) recognition. When this expansion is complete, the VMFA will be the FOURTH LARGEST art museum in the U.S., behind only the Met in New York, the Chicago Institute of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. This expansion will DEFINITELY put the VMFA – and by extension, RVA – not just on the map. It will make the museum – and the city – a serious destination – to a much wider audience.… Read more »
I walk through the museum grounds nearly every day. And I am a member. Living just five minutes away by foot, I look forward to having this project come to fruition. Alex Nyerges has done a fabulous job of bringing this museum into the 21st century. I trust his judgment.
I know there will be some Confederate people pissed at this, but move the church and expand down that whole side of the property.
Confederate people, really?
I’m not confederate, I’m Yankee, but that would be a really tough sell for me – Museums shouldn’t be tearing down history
Not talking about tearing it down. It should be moved and preserved so that portion of the site can accommodate an expansion.
It’s kind of wild that people are opposing the expansion of a public museum located in an area of the City named for museums (“the museum district”)!
The term museum district is a relatively new frame of reference for this area…it is still mostly a residential area; private homes & apartments. On this plot of land stood a former home for Confederate soldiers in their old age…behind it & still standing was the home for ladies or descendents of the soldiers…they were promised a home there for life…however the museum changed their mind on that & kicked them out about fifty years ago…The museum is a work of art in itself but it can be an unruly neighbor…It is good so many support it but big in… Read more »
somebody seems big mad they don’t have a place to whistle Dixie anymore.
Nope not into Dixie at all- juz stating the facts.
Well, Lincoln seemed to have loved it.
The VMFA did not kick the women out of the retirement home. Their own management did so by necessity. There were only 9 women left alive, and it was extremely expensive to keep the building open and running for them. They were moved to their own wing at Brandermill Woods, which is an excellent facility.
One learns a great deal from these comments. My source was a many decades old article from the Richmond Times Dispatch…As I recall the VMFA had a hand in the transfer of the ladies…however I admit my memory while good is not perfect…you are correct it was but a handful of women & they did go to Brandermill…thank you for your input. I stand corrected.
I don’t think people are opposing this per se? I’m very pro it, I just want the streetscape to be good. Above the first floor they can do what they want. Build it taller!
Hopefully DGS’s director approves the project and that’ll mean construction can start as scheduled. VMFA is an amazing asset for the area and I fully support this expansion. I trust VMFA to offer a world class building and museum experience.
the new mausoleum will be a welcoming feature for all the dead art that will be exhibited there
A Missed Opportunity: Rethinking the Design of the VMFA’s New Wing The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) has announced plans for a new wing to house its African American history collection. This project is an exciting and significant step forward, but it also represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to honor Africa’s architectural legacy—a chance that the current design seems to miss. Africa is home to some of the most extraordinary architectural achievements in history, many of which have shaped global art and culture. From the monumental pyramids of ancient Egypt, which continue to awe the world, to the Roman-influenced architecture… Read more »
It’s actually a 175,000 sf addition of which about 8,500 sf will be devoted to African art. That’s about 5% of the total space.
Yes, this is an opportunity to bring architectural design to the public, yet this form seems dedicated to oversimplified facades.
Anyone who currently works or has worked at the vmfa realizes how performative this is. The museum higher ups do not care about the neighbors or neighborhood. The fact that they want a bar and another cafe and gift shop inside should tell you it’s really about making more money to line their pockets. Anyone with a real knowledge of the museum knows about thr many damaged galleries, leaks, poorly operating elevators, issues with the hvac, water features, refrigeration in the café and restaurant. Then take a look at how low they pay their staff who actually are responsible for… Read more »
As a supporter of this project, I would like to apologize on behalf of the other supporters who seem to feel the need to insinuate that anyone who is in any way critical is ignorant, uncultured, and racist. People should be free to express their opinions without such judgement.
Thank you Sir…and yes I admit that I do not feel or act ignorant, uncultured or racist..Been going to the VMFA since the mid 1970’s. A much smaller museum then bit still a good one..Perhaps also more in scale with it’s surroundings.. however I understand the desire for growth…been a member on & off for quite a few years also…have a B.A. & post graduate work at U of R. Visited the Museum of Modern Art in NYC, spent some time at Fallingwater. Taken my share of art courses both classroom & studio…Still am no expert in anything. Do feel… Read more »
I’m surprised that the CAR would turn down anything modern. Come ride around Church Hill and see what they’ve done to it.
CAR does not have jurisdiction. This was AARB.