As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco has tapped the Culver City-based firm wHY to design their new renovation and expansion plans. The architecture practice headed by Kulapat Yantrasast, has become known over the years for conjuring environments that suit the needs of art—the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, Michigan's Grand Rapids Art Museum, and the recently completed Marciano Art Foundation in Los Angeles are all past projects by the firm. 

The original neoclassical structure was designed as San Francisco’s first Main Library in 1916 by Ecole des Beaux-Arts-trained architect George A. Kelham. The building was finally converted in 1996 by architect Gae Aulenti and has been home of the Asian Art Museum since 2003. Because the structure was constructed during the Civic Center Landmark District’s period of significance, wHY’s addition will have to insure the proposed project does not destroy or damage any of the contributing elements of the building.

Plans for the new, $90 million transformation center around a new structure on top of the museum’s east wing—to be called the Akiko Yamazaki & Jerry Yang Pavilion, after the Yahoo co-founder and his wife who have pledged $25 million toward the project. The pavilion—characterized by a rusticated gray terra-cotta tile exterior and gem-shaped bay windows—will feature an 8,500 square-foot exhibition space with an open-air terrace for public art on top. Other elements of the museum’s transformation include: dedicated spaces for contemporary art experiences; new approaches to displaying masterpieces in the museum’s collection galleries; upgrades to education classrooms and new digital technologies for enhanced interpretation.

The Pavilion is scheduled to open summer 2019. The museum will remain open during the transformation project, but collection galleries and some public spaces will close briefly on a rotating basis for reinstallation. “The city of SF is looking forward to the Asian Art Museum’s building transformation, which will both enhance the experience of all who visit our magnificent museum and revitalize the Civic Center neighborhood,” said San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee.