What to know about Frida Escobedo, first woman to design a wing of the Met Museum

The newly announced Oscar L Tang and HM Agnes Hsu-Tang Wing will house its 20th- and 21st-century art collection and is set to open in 2030.

Firsts to her credit

Escobedo, in her forties, is no stranger to the art of breaking ceilings. In 2018, she shot to international fame by becoming the youngest architect and only the second solo woman to design the Serpentine Gallery’s annual pavilion at the Kensington Gardens in London. She created dark walls made from cement roofing tiles and played with light and water that a reviewer from The Guardian called a “rough, tough, contemplative haven”. Escobedo says that her practice “defies the traditional boundaries of discipline, operating at a wide array of scales and mediums…” The same can be said for her as well.

Temporary pavilion of the Serpentine Gallery designed by Frida Escobedo in 2018. (Photo – Wikimedia Commons)

Known as an introvert, Escobedo was born in Mexico City in 1979 to a sociologist mother and a doctor father. From childhood, she was interested in art and making things. She told The New York Times, “Expressing yourself and your emotions, and transforming it into something that you want to present to someone always felt a little bit intimidating. So, design and art felt like a safer ground for me”.

Escobedo studied architecture at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City and then went to Harvard Graduate School of Design for a postgraduate degree in art, design, and the public domain.

Her time at the American institution, teeming with scholars, scientists, artists and thinkers of various sensibilities, proved transformative. “It showed me that it was true: Architecture was not just about developing housing or doing retail or hospitality or these very traditional things. It could be something else. You could be doing an installation, it could be doing furniture, it could be writing about it, it could be doing performance. All of these were talking about space,” she told NYT.

And the award goes to…

Escobedo returned to Mexico City and set up her eponymous studio in 2006. She built her reputation “on a series of competition-winning projects” in her home country. This included the renovation of the 1950s Hotel Boca Chica in 2008. Escobedo and her collaborator José Rojas gave the beach-side hotel a breath of fresh air by reactivating many spaces and introducing bright furniture and a nightclub.

In the following years, Escobedo won several awards and turned heads.

About the new wing for the Met

An official statement from the Met says that Escobedo’s design, unveiled in December 2024, “blends contemporary architectural elements with the established architectural styles of The Met. The five-story wing will feature a distinctive limestone “celosía”—a screen that evokes both historical and contemporary architectural traditions—creating a visually striking facade that harmonises with the existing building while maintaining a distinct identity. Internally, the design prioritises the flow of gallery spaces, with varied ceiling heights ranging from 11 to 22 feet, allowing for the flexible display of art of diverse scales and formats. This ensures a dynamic and engaging visitor experience”.

The new wing will include several amenities to increase visitor comfort and enjoyment. “A 1,000 sqft cafe will provide a space for respite and refreshment, and expanded outdoor terraces will offer stunning views of Central Park. The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden will also be relocated and significantly enlarged, providing ample space for outdoor exhibitions and events,” says The Met.

Incidentally, the studio that Escobedo opened in NYC to work on the new wing has been selected as the associate designer to the Moreau Kusunoki to lead the renovation of Centre Pompidou in Paris. This landmark of art will also open in 2030.