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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

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