The worlds of art and architecture have merged in the Danish city of Aarhus, where an ambitious expansion of the city’s modern art museum is underway.

Danish studio schmidt hammer lassen architects are working with acclaimed American artist James Turrell to extend the ARoS Aarhus Art Museum; a project which is intended to propel it “into the the world elite” of museums.

According to the architects, the €30m (US$32.3m, £21.2m) expansion - called ‘The Next Level’ – will “merge art and architecture into a new civic experience.”

The team will work together on a new 1,200sq m (13,000sq ft) underground gallery connected to the existing building, and two large semi-subterranean art installations created by Turrell. The project will develop the museum outwards, contrasting with the building’s existing vertical structure.

“Our studio is not just designing a new room for a new art work, we are co-creating the space and the installation simultaneously with James Turrell,” said schmidt hammer lassen partner Morten Schmidt. “It is a privilege for me as an architect to have the opportunity to work with him.”

Turrell is best known for his large-scale art installations. His ‘Roden Crater’ – an extinct volcano in the Arizona desert – is the world's largest work of art.

Schmidt hammer lassen designed the existing museum building, which has been in use since 2004.

The studio has created many of the most striking buildings in Aarhus. Work recently finished on its Dokk1 project; Scandinavia’s largest library.

Other developments in the city include the Bjarke Ingels-designed ‘Aarhus Island’, a large residential and leisure project along the harbourside.