Sydney's highly anticipated Art Gallery of New South Wales expansion will open its doors on Saturday, December 3, expecting the arrival of 15,000 people who have already registered to visit.

Designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning duo Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA, the new project is set to be the city's largest "cultural development since the dramatic opening of its Opera House nearly 50 years ago," as reported on Archinect back in May 2022 when updated project renderings were released.

Sejima and Nishizawa expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to work on the project. They shared with the press, "It has been a wonderful honor to design such an important public building in Sydney. Working closely with the Art Gallery of New South Wales team, we aimed to design an art museum building that is harmonious with its surroundings, one that breathes with the city, the park, and the harbor. We hope it will be a special place where visitors feel connected to art wherever they are in this beautiful setting."

The institution's gallery expansion was made possible by $244 million in funding from the NSW government and $100 million from private donors. According to the Art Gallery, "It is the largest government and philanthropic arts partnership of its kind to be successfully achieved in Australia."

SANAA collaborated with Australian and New Zealand-based architecture firm Architectus who acted as executive architects on the project. The site's engaging landscape was achieved by the work of landscape architects McGregor Coxall and Kathryn Gustafson with Seattle-based firm Gustafson Guthrie Nicol (GGN).

While the Art Gallery's original building was revitalized by Australian firm Tonkin Zulaikha Greer (TZG), the new expansion building runs on 100% renewable energy, with more than 10% of its electricity needs produced by solar panels located on the roof of the Entrance Pavilion. It's also noted that the new building is said to be the "first public art museum in Australia to achieve a 6-star Green Star design rating."

Indoor and outdoor spaces of the Art Gallery have been transformed to integrate over 3,400 square meters (36,600 square feet) of roof "art terraces" and courtyards that are open to the public. Adding to the redevelopment's sustainability efforts, there are over 8,000 square meters (86,100 square feet) of Australian native plant species located on the site's green roof and landscaped areas.

New design elements include three limestone-clad art pavilions "stepping down towards the harbor." The new building designed by SANAA creates additional exhibition space and allows for features like "the Tank, an adaptive re-use of a 2,200-square-meter former Second World War fuel bunker; a 1,100-square-meter column-free gallery for contemporary art; and a gallery for time-based art."

Explore more interior images of the Art Gallery's new building by Iwan Baan.

New featured exhibitions at the museum include Dreamhome: Stories of Art and Shelter, Making Worlds, Outlaw, and Adrián Villar Rojas: The End of Imagination. In celebration of the Art Gallery's opening, visiting hours have been extended to 10 PM daily.