May 18–June 30, 2008
Fogg Art Museum

Renzo Piano, Early Concept for Circulation around the 1927 Fogg Art Museum Courtyard, 2007. Ink on paper, 21 x 29.7 cm. © 2007 Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Used by permission.

This exhibition presents Renzo Piano Building Workshop’s schematic design for the long-awaited renovation of the Harvard University Art Museums’ facilities at 32 Quincy Street. Renzo Piano, a recipient of the Pritzker Prize and the American Institute of Architects’ 2008 Gold Medal, has been charged with designing a home for the Fogg, Busch-Reisinger, and Sackler museums under one roof. Along with critically needed updates to the building’s systems and infrastructure, the renovation will yield enlarged exhibition spaces and expanded study centers that will allow greater interactions with our extraordinary collections. While not a representation of the final design, the exhibition presents an important milestone in design progress and highlights many of the opportunities and challenges we face as this historic transformation moves forward.

Organized by Richard Benefield, deputy director.