The Philadelphia Museum of Art's year-long selection process for an architect to renovate and expand the museum building on Fairmount has come to a close. The institution's board has selected Pritzker Prize winner Frank O. Gehry to implement a 10-year master plan. In a departure from the sculptural buildings for which Gehry and his firm, Gehry Partners, is best known, the plan will create dynamic new spaces without disturbing the classic exterior of the neoclassical landmark that stands on a nine-acre site above the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

The design team will add expansive new galleries for contemporary art and special exhibition space by excavating under the Museum's east terrace and will renovate the Museum's existing interiors to create additional display for other collections, including new galleries for American and Asian art. Public spaces, such as the original Great Stair Hall, will become "crucial connectors" throughout, while spaces previously inaccessible to the public will be reopened for the first time in decades, making room for an Education Center, larger auditorium and store, street-level restaurant and cafeteria, and a visitor orientation center. A total of 80,000 square feet of new public space—a 60 percent increase—is anticipated.

The renovation marks the first modernization and expansion of the building since 1928.

The first step in the master plan was the acquisition of a landmark Art Deco building—now called the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building and scheduled to open next year—across the street from the main museum. Step two is the restoration of the roof and exterior envelope of the neoclassical building, which will create a sculpture garden over a new parking garage. Gehry will focus on the remaining phases: Expanding the main building, modernizing the infrastructure and building systems, and reclaiming existing spaces for public use.

The museum's decision to work with Gehry "was based on the exceptional range of his accomplishments, his love of art, admiration for our collections, and respect for the neoclassical building," says Anne d'Harnoncourt, director of the museum, "as well as his firm's success in smaller projects, where the hand of the architect is discreet yet wonderfully sensitive to the needs of great works of art."

For his part, Gehry seems excited about his role: "I saw this as an opportunity to learn from a legendary museum director and to accept the discipline of producing an important addition to a great institution with minimal exterior intrusion."


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