Architects reveal new vision for Moscow’s iconic New Tretyakov gallery

Architecture firm OMA have released a new vision for its redesign of Moscow’s New Tretyakov art gallery.

Originally built in 1984, the gallery hosts masterpieces of 20th century Russian and Soviet art, including works by Malevich, Kandinsky, and Andronov.

The redesign embraces the open plan spaces of Russia’s largest museum, incorporating a new entrance onto the the Moskva river. The plans split the building into four distinct sectors: art storage, an education centre, the main collection and a festival hall.

“[We’ll] remove a number of walls to make the different components more accessible and visible”, said OMA architect Rem Koolhaas. “Because of its size, it is almost impossible to consider [the museum] as a homogeneous entity. Modern interventions, unaffordable in Soviet times, such as escalators, [will] improve circulation and draw together the different autonomous elements of the museum.”

OMA has already worked on a number of other works with high profile Russian museums, including the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow.