Officials joined today to kick off construction of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s 70,000-square-foot addition.
The $118 million new wing, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano and the Renzo Piano Building Workshop in collaboration with Burt Hill, is expected to open in early 2012.
The new addition will make more room for the museum’s programs and functions.
"The Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum is a cultural landmark in Boston and I’m proud to support our world-class institutions as they grow," said Mayor Thomas Menino. "The new building is designed to complement the historic museum and in itself will be a work of art. This project will help preserve the museum while at the same time ensure that it continues to thrive."
In the new wing, visitors will have additional options for orientation in a new space, named the Living Room in deference to the domestic nature of the historic building. In the Living Room, visitors will learn about Isabella Stewart Gardner and the history of the museum she founded, the collection, and its unique installation and will browse material about the Gardner Museum’s renowned Artists-in-Residence program.
The Gardner’s extension will be constructed on museum property, which encompasses most of the block bordered by The Fenway, Evans Way Park, Palace Road, and Tetlow Street in the Fenway Cultural District along Frederick Law Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace park system.
The new wing will feature four volumes clad in patinated green copper panels that will "float" above the transparent first floor and echo the green of the gardens. These volumes will accommodate a 300 seat, in-the-round performance hall and a 2,000-square-foot, naturally lit special exhibition gallery. An adjacent greenhouse structure will feature a landscape classroom, as well as two artist apartments. The new wing will also provide outdoor seating for the café and expanded garden spaces.
The museum anticipates the new building will be LEED certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. Main components of the sustainable design are a geothermal well system, daylight harvesting, water-efficient landscaping techniques and the use of local and regional materials, which reduces the environmental impact associated with transport.
