User:NatalieV10/Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Extension and preservation project

Glass skylights illuminate the central atrium of the original building

In 2002, after a two-year master planning process, the museum's board of trustees determined that a new wing was necessary to preserve the historic building and to provide improved spaces for programs that continue Isabella Gardner's legacy. In 2004, Pritzker Prize–winning architect Renzo Piano and the Renzo Piano Building Workshop (Genoa, Italy) were selected to design the new wing. The design for the new wing is conceived as a respectful complement to the historic Museum building in scale, form, and materials.

The new expansion includes spaces for visitor services, concerts, special exhibitions, and education and landscape programs, furthering Isabella Gardner's legacy in art, music, and horticulture while reducing 21st-century strain on the collection and galleries. The completion date was 2012, and the project cost $118 million.

Can add more about the decision making and design of the expansion.

In 2009, the final approval for the expansion project was given, though there was much debate about the carriage house. The carriage house, originally built in 1907, was argued to be important for the intent of the first owners, but the building is now torn down in hopes to have the museum preserve the main building. In 2016, the new wing was praised for its appearance by the Boston Society of Architects and awarded a metal for its beauty.

The project adds 70,000 square feet consisting of two new buildings. The first building attaches to the original museum and takes on the appearance of 4-stories in glass and copper. The second building is smaller in size and uses the space for greenhouses and living quarters.