Metropolitan Museum of Art begins construction on Tang Wing

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has officially broken ground on the Tang Wing, a new 126,000-square-foot expansion dedicated to modern and contemporary art. Designed by Mexican architect Frida Escobedo, the project marks the first time a woman has designed a wing for the institution in its 156-year history.

The new wing will replace the existing Lila Acheson Wallace Wing and is expected to increase the museum’s 20th and 21st-century exhibition space by nearly 50 percent. The project, which aims to improve accessibility and reduce energy consumption, is scheduled to open in 2030. The wing is named after financier Oscar Tang and his wife, Agnes Hsu-Tang, following a $125 million cash donation, the largest of its kind in the museum's history.

Met Director Max Hollein described the project as the beginning of a “next great chapter” for the museum, noting that the design seeks to better connect the institution with its surroundings, including Central Park and the Upper East Side.