Saint Louis Art Museum unveils its David Chipperfield-designed extension

David Chipperfield has created a rectilinear new extension to the Saint Louis Art Museum, housed in the city's leafy Forest Park. The British architect was drafted in after it became clear that the museum had outgrown its 'Main Building', designed by American architect Cass Gilbert in 1904. The new 'East Building', which offers additional exhibition and up-to-date facilities, has just been completed.
Chipperfield was selected as the scheme's architect in 2005. One of the project's primary aims was to solve the infrastructure crisis the museum suffered from with its original building. A second issue Chipperfield faced was the need to create a design that would be contemporary but sit well next to the existing structure, which has strong architectural merit in its own right. 'We thought, can the extension help redefine the original building?" says Chipperfield. A seamless circulation between the two wings - the old and the new - was another point for the architecture to address.
The new addition has its own front door, which leads straight to gallery space on the ground level, while an extensive parking area on the lower level doubled the museum's external visitor parking space - a big advantage towards increasing the museum's accessibility.
One of the East Building's most distinctive features is its coffered ceiling, made out of polished concrete. It helps provide natural light to the galleries, as well as public spaces.
Still, the East Building is not here to steal the show. 'This is not a new building', says Chipperfield. 'It is a building supporting an existing building'. The museum's excellent art collection also needed its place in the architectural dialogue. Adds museum director Brent R Benjamin: '[The museum] is built around the needs of the collection.'
With the building finished, the museum is now settling into its new space and installing its first exhibition there, entitled Postwar German Art in the Collection. Having increased its total gallery space by approximately 30%, the refreshed St Louis Art Museum will have its grand opening to the public on the 29 June.
The polished concrete addition sits at the heart of the city's Forest Park. courtesy of Saint Louis Art Museum and Architectural Wall Systems
The new building is directly linked to the museum's original 1904 Beaux Arts Main Building, courtesy of Saint Louis Art Museum and Architectural Wall Systems courtesy of Saint Louis Art Museum and Architectural Wall Systemscourtesy of Saint Louis Art Museum and Architectural Wall Systems
Chipperfield has designed the structure around the needs of the museum's collection, courtesy of Saint Louis Art Museum courtesy of Saint Louis Art Museum courtesy of Saint Louis Art Museum
The museum's permanent collection includes 'Most Wanted Men No. 12,
'Number 3
'Red, Orange, Orange on Red'
'Betty' .by Gerhard Richter.
'German National Library, Frankfurt am Main IV' by Candida Höfer.
'Library'
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Prodrive updates its sleek racing simulator with new craft and fresh tech
Race at home in style with the latest version of Prodrive’s racing simulator, now equipped with Bang & Olufsen sound
-
A local architect’s guide to Joshua Tree
Mirtilla Alliata di Montereale shares her favourite things to do to slow down, look closely, and discover Joshua Tree through a more intentional lens
-
Art meets perfume in cross-disciplinary fragrance series Nez 1+1
Talents from film and fragrance come together to create Ansongo, the latest scent resulting from a creative matchmaking project by perfume revue Nez
-
Inside Frank Lloyd Wright’s Laurent House – a project built with accessibility at its heart
The dwelling, which you can visit in Illinois, is a classic example of Wright’s Usonian architecture, and was also built for a client with a disability long before accessibility was widely considered
-
Tour this fire-resilient minimalist weekend retreat in California
A minimalist weekend retreat was designed as a counterpoint to a San Francisco pied-à-terre; Edmonds + Lee Architects’ Amnesia House in Napa Valley is a place for making memories
-
A New Zealand house on a rugged beach exemplifies architect Tom Kundig's approach in rich, yet understated luxury
This coastal home, featured in 'Tom Kundig: Complete Houses', a new book launch in the autumn by Monacelli Press, is a perfect example of its author's approach to understated luxury. We spoke to Tom Kundig, the architect behind it
-
Tour architect Paul Schweikher’s house, a Chicago midcentury masterpiece
Now hidden in the Chicago suburbs, architect Paul Schweikher's former home and studio is an understated midcentury masterpiece; we explore it, revisiting a story from the Wallpaper* archives, first published in April 2009
-
The world of Bart Prince, where architecture is born from the inside out
For the Albuquerque architect Bart Prince, function trumps form, and all building starts from the inside out; we revisit a profile from the Wallpaper* archive, first published in April 2009
-
Is embracing nature the key to a more fire-resilient Los Angeles? These landscape architects think so
For some, an executive order issued by California governor Gavin Newsom does little to address the complexities of living within an urban-wildland interface
-
Hop on this Fire Island Pines tour, marking Pride Month and the start of the summer
A Fire Island Pines tour through the work of architecture studio BOND is hosted by The American Institute of Architects New York in celebration of Pride Month; join the fun
-
A Laurel Canyon house shows off its midcentury architecture bones
We step inside a refreshed modernist Laurel Canyon house, the family home of Annie Ritz and Daniel Rabin of And And And Studio