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Project

Boston Museum of Fine Arts

How do you update a landmark museum that houses one of the country’s largest art collections? To paraphrase the Boston Globe, “humanely and thoughtfully.”

Lead Contact

Project Details

Project Partners
Foster + Partners & Childs Bertman Tseckares (CBT)
Owner
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Location
Boston, Massachusetts
Completion Date
Area
240,000 ft²
Project Awards

Boston Society of Architects, Harleston Parker Medal Award, 2014

RIBA International, Award for Architectural Excellence, 2011

Preservation Achievement Award, Boston Preservation Alliance, 2011

boston_mfa
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. © Chuck Choi
boston_mfa
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. © Chuck Choi
boston_mfa
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. © Chuck Choi
boston_mfa
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. © Chuck Choi
boston_mfa
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. © Chuck Choi

Complementing a Beaux-Arts Spirit to Meet Today’s Demands

How do you update a landmark museum that draws more than 1 million visitors a year and houses one of the country’s largest art collections? To paraphrase the review by the Boston Globe, “humanely and thoughtfully.”

Working with Foster + Partners and Childs Bertman Tseckares, we provided structural design for the Art of the Americas Wing, which encompasses significant expansion and renovation to the museum. The 240,000-square-foot project was completed in 2010.

Highlights

  • To bring visitors directly into the heart of the complex and improve navigation among the various wings, the renovation reestablishes the north-south axis of the MFA’s century-old building on Huntington Avenue.
  • The expansion and renovation also integrates the museum more completely with the Back Bay Fens portion of Frederick Law Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace, a chain of nine Boston parks.
  • The Art of the Americas Wing accommodates 5,000 works—more than doubling the number previously on view.
  • The expansion increases the building’s area by 28 percent, adding new space for collections, exhibitions and educational programs.