An enclosure made to contain any object, is itself, an object. So it is with this Beaux-Arts “temple of art,” and the art it protects. There is an artfulness to this temple’s original face: an assemblage of decorative Willimina brickwork, devotion to the careful protection from all possible harms to its contents, and heartfelt commemorative intent.

Respectful expansion must remain faithful to Ellis Lawrence’s creative intent as exists in the west facade and ceremonious axes of the quad to the courtyard. Attempting a simplified form ‘nodding’ to the “oriental rug” of polychrome tile and pointed arches, as was done in the 2000s, is just disrespectful. Instead, place this container inside a glass case, direct favorable light, and making a path for visitors to engage with the years of change between 1929 and today.

There is no better source than the full spectrum light of day for many artworks (multimedia, or other modern pieces excluded, of course). Lawrence’s art temple was supposed almost entirely windowless, and now, drawing from the light-welling nature of the courtyard to provide good lighting is a valuable opportunity. Precedents for this are in Antoni Gaudi’s work, and the sky embracing re-work of the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, for the experience of art and cause of good health, respectfully, we will slice through this near-mausoleum with light.

Drawings of the “Museum of Fine Art” were under revision even a month or two from the October 1929 stock market crash which precipitated a global economic crisis lasting nearly a decade only for recovery to be punctuated by a second world war. Today we face another, global economic crisis, pandemic, as well as long-overdue redressing of terrible reigns of social violence against each other. An expansion now is no less historical than the setting of the museum’s cornerstone. The abundance of art among the museum’s collections is bursting it’s brick seams, and the needs of its visitors require more space to avoid transmission of deadly viruses.

These sections show the connection between the addition, the existing building, and the memorial courtyard. it’s also showing the new roof that provides a diffused light that we have placed on the middle axis of the building. it shows how it is situated on the building and which programs/ rooms it covers

The elevation shows the connection between the idea of the tapestry façade that Lawrence designed and the connection between the solid front and the fading out and dematerialization of our addition

The gradation of the brick in the new addition goes back to the concept of emergence. The north elevation is Inspired by the Crystal Houses by MVRDV. It Creates a prismatic light effect that changes character over the course of a day and between the seasons

The gradient towards the door makes the eye drawn to the doors and slowly reduces the scale from the massive façade to the scale of the door with the combination of the gradient and then the arch