Ten New Museums and Extensions Worldwide Redefine the Art Experience in 2026
A surge of new museum openings and expansions is transforming cultural environments worldwide. The Fenix museum debuted in Rotterdam, housed in a 1923 warehouse featuring a double-helix staircase designed by Ma Yansong. In Kortrijk, the Abby Kortrijk is located in the renovated Groeninge abbey, which includes two underground exhibition spaces created by Barozzi Veiga. Brussels' Musée Art & Histoire has introduced additional rooms dedicated to 19th-century decorative arts, including a winter garden preserved by Jean Delhaye. Meanwhile, Bangkok's Dib Museum, revamped by Kulapat Yantrasast, occupies a warehouse from the 1980s. In New York, OMA's Rem Koolhaas has designed an extension for the SANAA-designed New Museum. Other notable projects include Tashkent's Center for Contemporary Arts in a 1912 diesel depot, Peter Zumthor's David Geffen Galleries at LACMA, the Centre Pompidou's new branch in Seoul, and London's V&A East Museum in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, along with Tadao Ando's Naoshima New Museum of Art.
Key facts
- Fenix museum opened in a 1923 Rotterdam warehouse built for the Holland-America Line
- Ma Yansong of MAD Architects designed The Tornado staircase at Fenix
- Abby Kortrijk opened in the restored Groeninge abbey with design by Barozzi Veiga
- Brussels' Musée Art & Histoire opened new decorative arts rooms including a Victor Horta winter garden
- Bangkok's Dib Museum was founded by Petch Osathanugrah and designed by Kulapat Yantrasast
- OMA's Rem Koolhaas designed an extension to the SANAA-designed New Museum in New York
- Tashkent's Center for Contemporary Arts by Studio KO occupies a 1912 diesel depot
- Tadao Ando completed his tenth building on Naoshima, the Naoshima New Museum of Art
Entities
Artists
- Tadao Ando
- Rem Koolhaas
- Ma Yansong
- Peter Zumthor
- Kulapat Yantrasast
- Petch Osathanugrah
- Karl Fournier
- Olivier Marty
- Pieter Braecke
- Jean Delhaye
- Victor Horta
- Jean Cousin
- Frank Lloyd Wright
- Lacaton & Vassal
- Jean Nouvel
- David Adjaye
- Bjarke Ingels
- Kengo Kuma
- David Chipperfield
- Heike Hanada
- Alex Poots
- Glenn D. Lowry
- Erol Tabanca
- Valentina Silvestrini
- Maurita Cardone
- Bianca Felicori
- Marta Atzeni
- Nicola Violano
- Erika Pisa
Institutions
- Fenix
- Holland-America Line
- MAD Architects
- Abby Kortrijk
- Broelmuseum
- Barozzi Veiga
- Musée Art & Histoire
- Dib Museum
- WHY Architecture
- New Museum for Contemporary Art
- SANAA
- OMA
- Center for Contemporary Arts Tashkent
- Studio KO
- Yves Saint Laurent Museum
- LACMA
- Centre Pompidou
- Hanwha
- Wilmotte & Associés
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- V&A East Museum
- V&A East Storehouse
- Naoshima New Museum of Art
- Connaissance des Arts
- Atelier Jean Nouvel
- Diller Scofidio + Renfro
- Gensler
- Addenda Architects
- Rockwell Group
- Adjaye Associates
- David Chipperfield Architects
- Kengo Kuma and Associates
- Bjarke Ingels Group
- Feilden Fowles Architects
- National Museum of Qatar
- Museum of Modern Art
- Bauhaus Museum Dessau
- Bauhaus Museum Weimar
- Bauhaus-Archiv / Museum für Gestaltung
- The Shed
- Ruby City Museum
- Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts de Lausanne
- Tanzhaus Zürich
- Art Institute of Chicago
- James Simon Galerie
- Centre Pompidou Shanghai
- West Bund Art Museum
- OMM – Odunpazari Modern Museum
- V&A Dundee
- MÉCA
- Future Factory for San Pellegrino
- Citylife
- Copenhills
- Twist
- The Weston
- Yorkshire Sculpture Park
- RIBA
- Artribune
- Domus
- Hamad International Airport
- Hudson Yards
- Museuminsel
- National Stadium Tokyo
Locations
- Rotterdam
- Netherlands
- Kortrijk
- Belgium
- Brussels
- Bangkok
- Thailand
- New York
- United States
- Tashkent
- Uzbekistan
- Marrakech
- Los Angeles
- Seoul
- South Korea
- London
- United Kingdom
- Naoshima
- Japan
- Honshu
- Shikoku
- Saint-Gilles
- Toledo
- Stratford
- Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
- Paris
- Qatar
- Doha
- Dessau
- Germany
- Weimar
- Berlin
- San Antonio
- Texas
- Lausanne
- Switzerland
- Zürich
- Chicago
- Shanghai
- China
- Eskisehir
- Turkey
- Dundee
- Scotland
- Bordeaux
- France
- Milan
- Italy
- Jevnaker
- Norway
- Yorkshire
- England
- Tokyo