How Frida Escobedo is using stone, light and restraint to shape a new chapter at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
New York / September 2026
A museum’s architecture shapes the way we encounter art: what draws us closer, where we pause, how one room opens into another.
On September 15, The Met broke ground on its Tang Wing, designed by Mexico City–born architect Frida Escobedo. She is the first woman to design a wing in the museum’s 156-year history.
Light becomes part of the building
The planned limestone celosía gives the facade a screened, layered surface that responds to daylight. Inside, galleries of different heights will accommodate both intimate encounters and large installations.
The 126,000-square-foot project includes 69,500 square feet of exhibition space—nearly 50% more than the current wing—and is expected to open in 2030.
The Primo take
For us, the significance extends beyond a milestone appointment. It is the opportunity to see an architect from Mexico shape how a major cultural institution welcomes people and frames their experience. Influence can be quiet: a material, a proportion, a different relationship to light.