Buildings often start to age after 35 years and generally it’s the unglamorous bits - the staircases or skylights - that need attention. Such is the case with the National Gallery of Art’s fabled I.M. Pei-designed East Building. “When we were beginning to look into things that required work Perry Chin, who works with I. M. Pei, would say, if you’re going to do this you might consider ….,’’ recalled Earl A. Powell III, the Gallery’s director.
One idea that intrigued Mr. Powell was to explore the possibilities of carving out space in two sky-lit towers that are rarely used, and transforming them into formal galleries. That was the start of a plan to add 12,260 square feet of new exhibition space within the East Building’s original footprint. Plans call for the creation of two new Tower Galleries on the northeast and northwest sides of the building, inspired by its current Tower Gallery in the southwest portion of the building. Each new space will e sky-lit and hexagonal in shape. A new outdoor sculpture terrace will be situated between the galleries.
The project is part of a federally financed Master Facilities Plan, which started in the West Building in 1999 and included improving the infrastructure and renovating its main and ground floor and sculpture galleries. When work starts, portions of the East Building will close from July through December and construction will begin in January. It is expected to last about three years.
The entire East Building project, which is estimated to cost $38.4 million, is a public-private partnership with $30 million coming from several Washington philanthropists â€" Victoria P. Sant, the Gallery’s president and her husband, Roger W. Sant, a member of the Gallery’s Trustees’ Council; Mitchell Rales, a board member and his wife, Emily; and David M. Rubenstein, chief executive of the Carlyle Group.
At the same time, the National Gallery is close to working out an agreement with the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles to collaborate on programming, research and exhibitions. Under the plan, the Gallery might lend works to the museum.
