A design team consisting of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Cooper Robertson, and James Carpenter Design Associates with Trivers Associates and Haley Sharpe Design won the international competition for the opportunity to expand and renovate the Eero Saarinen-designed Gateway Arch Museum in St. Louis.
The expanded Gateway Arch Museum, designed by Cooper Robertson and James Carpenter Design Associates, has a dramatic entrance and plaza that is nestled into the historic landscape. The design includes new public spaces, a great entry hall that leads to re-imagined exhibitions and the fully renovated original Saarinen building beneath the Arch.
Nearly 45,000 sf of new museum space has been added and over 100,000 sf of existing space has been reconfigured into new exhibition galleries, public education facilities, and visitor amenities. The new Gateway Arch Museum extends west towards downtown St. Louis with a new entrance and plaza that connects to the redesigned and expanded Luther Ely Smith Square, which now spans over a depressed interstate highway.
Rendering courtesy Cooper Robertson.
The museum’s public spaces and surroundings are fully integrated into the overall plan for the Dan Kiley-designed 91-acre Park. The Museum and Park now connect directly to the 1862 Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis.
“The Museum design is fully integrated into the National Register-listed landscape,” says Cooper Robertson’s Scott Newman, in a release. “The new entrance is precisely inserted into the topography, allowing visitors to enter the building through the landscape rather than descending underground. As one enters, a luminous great hall is revealed with views deep into the Museum’s monumentally scaled exhibits below, elevating and enlivening the visitor experience, while respecting Dan Kiley’s original Park design.”
According to the Gateway Arch Park Foundation, the nonprofit group behind the project, one of the main goals of the renovation and expansion is to create closer and more robust connections between the Gateway Arch Museum, the landscape of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, and the city of St. Louis as a whole.
McCarthy Building Companies is the general contractor for the project.
The Museum will open to the public this year with an official dedication ceremony planned for July 2018.
UPdate
EarthCam has released a new time-lapse video showing the construction of the Gateway Arch Museum project. The one minute video shows the construction of the museum between February 2014 and March 2018.
Courtesy EarthCam.
Related Stories
Museums | Jul 11, 2022
Denmark opens a museum that tells the stories of refugees worldwide
Located on the site of Denmark’s largest World War II refugee camp, the new Refugee Museum of Denmark, FLUGT, tells the stories of refugees from the camp as well as refugees worldwide.
Museums | Jun 28, 2022
The California Science Center breaks grounds on its Air and Space Center
The California Science Center—a hands-on science center in Los Angeles—recently broke ground on its Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.
Museums | May 31, 2022
University of Texas at Dallas breaks ground on new 12-acre cultural district
The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) recently broke ground on the Crow Museum of Asian Art, the first phase of a new 12-acre cultural district on campus.
Museums | Mar 16, 2022
Unpacking the secrets to good museum storage
Museum leaders should focus as much design attention on the archives as the galleries themselves, according to a new white paper by Erin Flynn and Bruce Davis, architects and museum experts with the firm Cooper Robertson.
Projects | Mar 2, 2022
Construction nears completion on $1B Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo
At an estimated budget of $1 billion, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is considered the largest museum in the world dedicated to one civilization. The superlatives don’t end there: It’s also the largest museum in Egypt, the largest Pharaonic museum in the world, and one of the world’s leading scientific, historical, and archeological study centers.
Museums | Feb 25, 2022
Virginia Museum of History and Culture set to reopen after 18-month renovation
Expanded exhibits present new learning approaches.
University Buildings | Feb 18, 2022
On-campus performing arts centers and museums can be talent magnets for universities
Cultural facilities are changing the way prospective students and parents view higher education campuses.
Museums | Jan 25, 2022
Cooper Robertson selected to design master plan for Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute
The project will seek public input regarding the campus master plan.
Museums | Jan 14, 2022
The Shedd Aquarium unveils its $500 million vision for the future
The project will prepare the aquarium for the next 100 years.
Museums | Dec 20, 2021
Marvel selected for $21 million renovation of the Bronx Museum of Arts’ Grand Concourse Entrance
The museum is one of NYC’s only major museums with free admission.
