Harvard Art Museums

A Renovation and Expansion Project

The renovation and expansion of the Harvard Art Museums, completed in 2014, transformed the previous 1920s Georgian revival masonry structure into a state-of-the-art, high-performance facility that meets the demands of contemporary museum operations. The design brought together three distinct Museums – the Fogg, the Busch-Reisinger and the Sackler – along with their collections and curatorial staff under one iconic glass roof. Called the Lantern, this skylight united the historic building with a modern vision and let controlled natural light into the conservation labs, study centers, galleries, classrooms, and the historic courtyard below to better serve the needs of the students, staff and general public. Furthermore, both the use of transparency and the addition of a new timber cladded, flexible gallery wing allowed the possibility of visual and spatial juxtapositions between works of art from diverse disciplines.  Thus, the architecture of the museum space embodied the university’s increasingly interdisciplinary pedagogy.

Justin served as the project architect for Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) on this project, overseeing its development from early design conception to eventual materialization and reopening. He worked directly with Renzo, the design team, the owners, and the contractors, representing RPBW in Cambridge, MA. He also led the design development and the on-site construction administration effort to ensure that construction was in line with the design vision.

Client: Harvard University

Location: Cambridge, MA

Year Completed: 2014

Collaboration: Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Payette

Image Credits:

Harvard Art Museums, Nic Lehoux, Laurian Ghinitoiu