Princeton University has selected Sir David Adjaye and Cooper Robertson to lead on the redesign and expansion of the school’s historic art establishment.

The collaborators will spearhead the development of new exhibition halls, as well as classrooms and office spaces for the museum's 100-person staff.

First instituted in 1882, the Princeton University Art Museum (PUAM) is one of the oldest institutions in the US. Its wide-ranging collection, which comprises more than 100,000 works of art, also includes exclusive ancient and modern treasures, such as artefacts from Ancient Rome and paintings by Brooklyn artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.

In a statement, Adjaye, who recently served as the main architect of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, commented on the project’s cultural significance.

"The reimagined museum will be the cultural gateway between Princeton University, its students, faculty and the world, a place of mind-opening encounter with art and ideas in the service of humanity," he said. "We are deeply honoured to be part of the next chapter of its history."

James Steward, director of the museum said: "We look forward to shaping a facility that is worthy both of Princeton and of the extraordinary collections now in our care."

The museum project will not be the first collaboration between Cooper Robertson and Adjaye Associates. In 2017, the firms teamed up to design the Studio Museum in Harlem.

Construction on PUAM will not commence until after 2020.