massart art museum

The MassArt Art Museum, or MAAM, is a teaching museum and a kunsthalle— a non-collecting museum. The project transforms two makeshift galleries in a 100-year old building into a state-of-the-art contemporary art museum. The mission for the project was to create a new museum-quality environment, while giving the museum a clear entry and identity on Huntington Ave, Boston’s Avenue of the Arts. 

The renovation involved a full transformation to the two main gallery spaces and curatorial workshops, as well as a relocation and redesign of staff offices. With a new, dedicated entry way, welcoming plaza, and bold signage, the exterior of the building announces the museum’s arrival to the region’s robust arts scene. Indoors, the renovation creates first-class gallery space, and a new lobby that gives visitors access to all of the museum’s amenities directly from the street.

The history of the building is embedded into the details of this project; ceilings were torn down in the upstairs gallery to reveal the historic building’s original terracotta vaulting and steel trusses. At 36 feet high, the trusses can act as an armature for art, creating unlimited possibilities for display. A staircase leads to a second-level viewing platform, offering a unique perspective on a diverse range of experimental art. Throughout, crisp white textures were used to create a blank canvas for the museum’s rotating exhibits.