The Broad Breaks Ground on $100 Million Expansion in downtown L.A.

The Broad art museum took a bold step into its future on April 9, 2025, with the groundbreaking of a visionary $100 million expansion that will reshape its downtown L.A. campus. Designed once again by the award-winning architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R), the project has been heralded as a dramatic architectural complement to the museum’s existing building.

The 55,000-square-foot expansion will stretch from Grand Avenue to Hope Street. It will be physically connected to the current structure by a third-floor walkway that will open out into an outdoor courtyard—one of two new outdoor areas planned to enhance both the visitor experience and future programming.

Design

Rather than replicating the museum’s signature design, DS+R opted for its thoughtful evolution. The original “veil and vault” scheme proposed in 2015 has been inverted for the expansion: this time, the lacy, web-like “veil” will be interior, enveloped by the monolithic sculptural “vault” exterior. The design makes the two buildings like familial siblings—distinct, yet unmistakably kin.

“They’re not copycats, these two buildings,” explained Elizabeth Diller, founding partner at DS+R. “They share a common design language, but each one has its own personality to add to the conversation. Together, they amplify how people interact with the museum.”

The Broad officials see the expansion as a symbolic one—a move that opens the museum’s long-closed vault and invites the public in. It’s a step, they say, that reiterates The Broad’s long-standing goal: getting art to as broad an audience as possible.

Scheduled opening dates

Scheduled to open in 2028, the new building will expand gallery space by 70% . And will be spread out over three levels built above the existing parking garage. The introduction of two courtyards is not just intended to provide moments of fresh air and reflection but to create flexible space for events and public engagement.

Joanne Heyler, The Broad’s founding director, described the expansion as a step forward in reimagining what a museum can be. “We’re retaining the elements of museum design that still serve us well,” she said, “but we’re also challenging tradition—reaching toward something more open, more experimental.”

The Broad’s holdings of over 2,000 works by contemporary heavyweights such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons, Kara Walker, Andy Warhol, and others will benefit from the added space and new presentation modes.

This addition is an expansion of our founding ideals—making access, welcoming curiosity, and forging new encounters with contemporary art,” Heyler said. “By flipping the vault inside out, the design reinvents what public space in a museum can be and can feel like.”.

The Broad Breaks Ground on $100 Million Expansion in downtown L.A. The second floor will feature an open art-storage vault, where visitors can view rotating works displayed on visible racks.

The Broad Museum Expansion Project Factsheet

Project overview

$100 million expansion of The Broad Museum in downtown Los Angeles

Groundbreaking: April 9, 2025

Anticipated opening: 2028

Expansion size: 55,000 square feet

Increases gallery space by 70%

Architectural design

Architect: Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R), same firm that designed original building

Design concept: Inverted “veil and vault” scheme from original building

The lacy “veil” will be interior, with monolithic “vault” exterior

Connection to existing building via third-floor walkway

Two new outdoor courtyards for events and public engagement

The Broad Museum Expansion: Location & layout

Spans from Grand Avenue to Hope Street

Three levels built above existing parking garage

Connected to current structure by third-floor walkway

Physical footprint extends The Broad’s campus presence in downtown L.A.