Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to break ground on expansion next month

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced Tuesday that it will break ground next month on a 50,000 square-foot expansion project, allowing the museum to better serve its next 14 million visitors from around the world.

Designed by Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU), the museum said the expansion will integrate the original building designed by I.M. Pei with the urban Cleveland lakefront, while increasing the size of the Museum by one third.

With $135 million raised towards the capital campaign, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame said it will begin construction this Fall.

The expansion will feature a new entry lobby and publicly accessible space; exhibition spaces, offices, a state-of-the-art education center and a 6,000+-square-foot multipurpose venue.

“The renowned architecture of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is symbolic of the innovation and creativity of generations of music icons,” said Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum President & CEO, Greg Harris. “30 years after we broke ground on the original structure we embark on this next chapter in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s legacy, including expanding the museum’s world-class education and exhibition offerings, and we are thrilled to partner with the architectural and design visionaries at PAU, including Vishaan Chakrabarti.”

The addition sets a new tone for the visitor experience while responding functionally, operationally, and aesthetically to the existing pyramid.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to break ground on expansion next month(Credit: Courtesy of The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame)

“This transformation will expand the Rock Hall’s iconic structure to meet the demands of its evolving mandate: to showcase the past, present and future of rock & roll as the defining sound of each generation’s youth,” said Chakrabarti, Founder and Creative Director of PAU. “Our design welcomes visitors by pulling the forces of the City, the Lake, and Pei’s Pyramid together into a new triangular composition that centers on a dynamic, aural, and inclusive public interior that flows from the streets to the waterfront—a destination that declares this must be the place.”

Where the two structures converge, a large publicly accessible interior atrium welcomes visitors, drawing in passersby with circulation pathways that connect the street to an exterior lake promenade.

In addition to functioning as an urban pedestrian link, the Rock Hall said the new venue and exhibition spaces provide greatly increased flexibility to allow for larger exhibitions and events.