This was achieved in part by the use of the same materials, including Minnesota quarry-sourced Kasota limestone, in the renovation that were used in the construction of the sprawling, Greek Revival building 93-some years ago. While some of these transformed spaces are new new and might surprise (and potentially disorient) even the most dedicated PMA patrons, a material familiarity (and a somewhat surprising restraint considering the involvement of Gehry, who, as noted by Saffron, delivered a provocation-free project in which “every inch” is “rendered with elegance and sensitivity”) is present throughout. The Core Project also entailed a sweeping number of infrastructural upgrades meant to bring the aging building up to 21st-century efficiency and accessibility standards. Dietrich II Galleries, together totaling more than 20,000 square feet. Vista of the Schuylkill River and Fairmount Park from the newly accessible West Portico (Steve Hall © Hall + Merrick Photographers, 2021)Īdditionally, areas previously dedicated to administrative purposes along with old restaurant and retail spaces have been transformed into two new mirroring gallery suites, the Robert L. “Given the importance of Venturi, Scott Brown to architectural history, and to Philadelphia, it’s a shame that some vestige of their work wasn’t retained in the space,” she wrote. (Steve Hall © Hall + Merrick Photographers, 2021)Īs previously detailed by AN leading up to today’s unveiling, major components of the Core Project include: A rebuilt, renamed, and more accessible West Terrace, now known as the Robbi and Bruce Toll Terrace a refreshed Lenfest Hall, the soaring space that serves as the main western entrance to the museum and now features new coffered ceilings, restored columns, a newly installed wall sculpture by Martin Puryear, and Gehry Partners-designed admissions desks a newly created space named the Williams Forum that replaces the old, 1950s-era museum auditorium and will be used for large-scale installations and public programming, and the completed Vaulted Walkway, a 640-foot-long corridor that spans the length of the museum that has now been fully reintroduced after being off-limits to the public for decades.Īs for Lenfest Hall, Inga Saffron noted in her assessment for the Philadelphia Inquirer, conspicuously absent from the space following the renovation are the “brightly colored furniture and ceiling coffers” installed during a 1989 Venturi, Scott Brown-led renovation.
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