The Speed Art Museum, Kentucky’s oldest and largest art museum, has selected eight firms as finalists to design its future expansion project. The museum, which is located on the campus of the University of Louisville off the beaten path, plans to add gallery, exhibition, education and social space to its existing Neo-classical building, which underwent extensive renovation in 1996. It is hoped the addition by a high-profile design firm will raise the visibility of the museum and increase visitation.

The eight finalists, selected from an initial 100, are Bernard Tschumi Architects of New York; Bjarke Ingels Group of Copenhagen; Gluckman Mayner Architects of New York; Henning Larsen Architects of Copenhagen; SANAA of Tokyo; Snohetta AS with offices in New York and Oslo; Studio Gang Architects of Chicago and wHY Architecture of Los Angeles.

In the coming months, the Architect Selection Committee will continue to visit buildings relevant to the Speed’s future expansion and discuss its vision with the architects in more detail. Through this process, the Selection Committee will narrow the search to a single architectural firm the name of will be announced early next year.