A renovation plan for the North Carolina Museum of Art will create more spaces for gathering and learning, inside and out
by Ayn-Monique Klahre
If you’ve lived in Raleigh for any length of time, chances are you’ve toured the galleries at the North Carolina Museum of Art, seen a show at the Joseph M. Bryan, Jr., Theater or strolled along the pathways of the Ann and Jim Goodnight Museum Park. An ambitious renovation project is now underway to unite these elements. “The idea is to integrate the whole campus,” says Dr. Valerie Hillings, director and CEO of the NCMA. “This project is fundamentally about physically connecting spaces that have been distinct.”
Construction began late last month, with HH Architecture, a local firm known for public-facing projects like the SECU DinoLab at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, as the lead architect for this project. “It’s an incredible honor to work with institutions with such great legacies,” says Siler Ransmeier, partner and director of design at HH. “We take that responsibility seriously: we’re part of this community, too, and we want to have a positive impact on the built environment as we grow.” HH is partnering with a “big and talented” design team, says Ransmeier, including design architect firm Eskew Dumez Ripple and art conservation specialist Samuel Anderson Architects.
The renovations are multi-pronged, including an update to the lower level of the East Building, which will create more gathering spaces, upgrade the conservation lab and make it more public-facing; updating the amphitheater and adding more accessibility features; and creating new built environments in the park for programming, displaying art, dining and interacting with the galleries. “We’re rare among the urban museums to have this kind of outdoor space, and I saw great potential for the East Building, because it’s the exact space that connects to the park,” Hillings says. “One of the objectives is to draw people who love the park inside, and we want to work with our existing assets to make them for the moment, but also give them room to evolve.” The NCMA campus and galleries will remain open during construction, but the Joseph M. Bryan, Jr., Theater in the Museum Park will be closed for outdoor concerts through 2027.
The renovations will also better connect the museum buildings to the park. “Each of these elements developed piecemeal, so this project will better incorporate them,” Hillings says. She points to faceted mirrored paneling that will be installed at an entrance to the East Building. “Those panels will reflect back the park and whoever’s standing in front of them, visually connecting the building to the landscape and to our visitors in an artistic and interesting way.”
The renovation comes at a time when this area of Raleigh in particular is expanding, with an entertainment district in development by the Lenovo Center and a NC Health and Human Services office complex opening across Ridge Road. “We have a lot of new people that will be starting to come here,” Hillings says. “As our city continues to grow, we are being forward-thinking and thoughtful.”
This article originally appeared in the July 2025 issue of WALTER magazine.
