Swiss architect Peter Zumthor has been chosen to build the multi-million Euro extension to the Fondation Beyeler art museum in his home city Basel.

An international jury composed of prominent figures from the worlds of art and design – including architects Jean Nouvel, Annabelle Selldorf and outgoing Tate director Sir Nicholas Serota – unanimously selected Zumthor to lead the project, which will add new exhibition and educational facilities to the building designed by Renzo Piano in 1997.

The extension will be constructed on the previously private land of the city’s Iselin-Weber Park, which will be made accessible to the public and used as a garden hosting art works and cultural events.

CHF50m (US$51.4m, €45.7m, £39m) has already been committed by the private investors who are funding the CHF80m (US$82.8m, €73m, £62.3m) project.

“The sky above Basel, the city and its surroundings – those are the landscapes of my youth,” said Zumthor. “It is heart-warming to be able to design a major building here.”

While the design will not be publicly revealed until later in the year, Fondation Beyeler director Sam Keller praised Zumthor for possessing “the sensitivity and experience that are needed to create a building of outstanding quality in this very special location.”

The architect was chosen for his history of designing museum buildings, such as the Kunsthaus Bregenz, the Kolumba Kunstmuseum in Cologne and the forthcoming Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

The Fondation Beyeler is the most visited art museum in Switzerland and has attracted over 6.2 million people from all continents since its inauguration.

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