Museum of Modern Art jettisons controversial elements of expansion

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York has amended its controversial $440m renovation and expansion plan. The architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro discarded the ground-level “art bay”, among other criticised elements. The expansion seeks to reduce congestion in the galleries and provide an additional 50,000 square feet of exhibition space. The project will also “allow us to show more of the collection, though at this point we can’t yet estimate how much more by percentage”, says a spokeswoman. Overall, the museum will grow by 17%, giving a total of 774,000 square feet. Construction began last month and is expected to be complete in 2019 or 2020. MoMA demolished the neighbouring former Folk Art Museum building to make way for the expansion in 2014.