Rebecca Maloney
Americas Press Office ,Boston
Arup’s complex and integrated multidisciplinary services helped bring the historic building up to modern standards.
A public ceremony was held on November 16 to celebrate the grand opening of the Harvard Art Museums. The 204,000ft2 renovation and expansion project designed by the Renzo Piano Building Workshop in collaboration with Payette, combines the Fogg Museum, the Busch-Reisinger Museum, and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum under one roof.
The facility provides new and versatile platforms for accessing the collections including an expansive Art Study Center, an expanded special exhibition space, and the University Galleries which are programmed in consultation with faculty to support specific coursework or in partnership with other Harvard museums. The new exhibition galleries are designed to create places for close engagement with individual works of art — for both the Harvard University community and the general public. The Calderwood Courtyard, the historic heart of the original Fogg Museum, was restored as the central point of circulation in the museums new home.
Key design features include energy efficient glazed walls, custom timber cladding, preservation of historic masonry walls, and a fully glazed roof for which glazed exterior louvers, triple glazing, and internal and external shades are combined to achieve optimal lighting and cooling levels in the conservation and study spaces. Specific Arup services include mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering, lighting design and daylighting, fire and life safety consulting, and sustainability consulting. Additionally, extensive services integration was required to install new systems within the existing framework of the building in order to maintain its original context.
