A year after its selection of London-based architect, Rick Mather, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) in the US has unveiled a master plan for the US$100m expansion and transformation of its 13.5-acre campus.

Mather’s contemporary design will display more fully the museum’s extensive collection of world art. Known for his use of transparency and natural light, Mather plans to create “viewpoints from which Richmond’s historic downtown may be seen from the museum for the first time, placing the institution in a true relationship with the city.”

According to VMFA director Dr Michael Brand: “In this design, Rick Mather proposes a new ideal for how we come together as citizens to celebrate culture in public places, one that blurs the threshold between indoor and outdoor spaces, and between architecture and landscape design”.

The expansion aims to unify the VFMA campus, whose grounds include three historically significant buildings. A new, five-level glass and limestone entrance wing will add more than 100,000sq ft to the 240,000sq ft museum. The project team plan to restore the orientation of the museum’s main entrance to the Boulevard, one of Richmond’s key thoroughfares. The new wing will house galleries for permanent and temporary exhibitions, a library, café, restaurant and offices. It will be linked to the existing building across a central atrium, with six glass-sided bridges that will take visitors to different levels and galleries. The current car park will be turned into a 3.5-acre sculpture garden.

For the project, Mather has incorporated with Richmond-based firm, SMBW as Rick Mather + SMBW. The VMFA will break ground in 2004 with opening slated for 2007.