THE NEW WING
BU I LDI N G PROJ E C T TIME LI N E 1999–2000 Board of Trustees and Director Anne Hawley initiate a strategic planning process including identifying ways to reduce wear and tear on the collection. 2000–2002 Trustees determine that relocating some activities to a new wing is the best way to protect the historic Museum. 2001 Machado and Silvetti Associates and George H.B. Macomber Company are commissioned to assess space needs and write master space proposal. 2002 Architectural Selection Committee establishes criteria for architects and invites architectural firms to submit proposals.
With the new wing designed by Renzo Piano, visitors can experience the Museum, collection, and programs in a whole new way. The entrance has been relocated from the Fenway to Evans Way (facing a tree-filled park instead of a busy thoroughfare), and the use of glass and natural light in the new entrance and first floor affords visitors a view of the Museum at work as they enter next to plant-filled greenhouses and move through a glass connector to the historic building. Special Exhibition Gallery The naturally-illuminated, 2,000-square-foot Special
Exhibition Gallery, three times larger than the previous gallery, will support both historic and contemporary exhibitions. The new gallery features a north-facing glass wall overlooking the historic building, a skylight with micro-louvers for manipulating natural light, and a movable translucent ceiling for varying spatial conditions and exhibition needs. An introductory gallery can be used for interpretive materials that will guide and engage visitors in the themes explored in special exhibitions. Calderwood Hall Co-designed by acclaimed acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, the three-tiered, white oak-paneled Calderwood Hall will allow audiences to hear the Museum’s wide-ranging musical performances in an unusual and intimate hall. The 300-seat flexible-use hall for concerts, lectures, and community gatherings has three balcony levels around a central stage, with front row seats for all. Richard E. Floor Living Room Inspired by a project of the same name created for
the Gardner Museum in 2000 by Artist-in-Residence Lee Mingwei, the Living Room is a place of learning and inspiration for visitors. Intended for use either before or after a Museum visit, the space offers visitors a range of options: some
2003 Architectural Selection Committee narrows list of 75 architects down to eight firms of varying sizes and geographic locations. 2004 Pritzker Prize–winning architect Renzo Piano is selected. 2006 Regulatory review of the building plans begins; ultimately the Museum receives approval from all relevant city and state preservation and development agencies. 2007 Leadership phase of the Museum’s Campaign for the Gardner begins. 2009 Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts approves the plans, marking the final approval necessary to move forward. A critical fundraising benchmark of $100 million in gifts and pledges is reached, and the Board of Trustees votes unanimously to proceed with the building plans. Site preparation and excavation begin, including removal of a carriage house, annex, and existing greenhouses. Art and architectural objects are salvaged before demolition. To support environmentally sustainable temperature control, the drilling of eight geothermal wells begins. The new building endeavors to be LEED certified.
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