Peabody Essex Museum reveals design collaboration behind US$200m facility expansion
The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts, has revealed finalised plans for its US$200m (€108.8m, £130m) facility expansion as part of a larger ongoing US$650m (€587.6m, £422.2m) Advancement Campaign.
Based on initial work by Rick Mather Architects, with subsequent work from Richard Olcott of Ennead Architects, the museum will gain a new 40,000sq ft (3,716sq m) wing for galleries and temporary exhibition space, while a new 80,000sq ft (7,432sq m) Collection Stewardship Center will be built off-site.
Groundbreaking for the development is set for 2016, with the new wing opening to the public in 2019. The three-storey development occupies the northwest corner of the museum complex where the Asian Garden – which will be relocated – currently sits. No existing galleries will be demolished during development and when the new wing opens, gallery space will increased 15 per cent to bring total gallery space up to 100,000sq ft (9,290sq m), ranking PEM among the top 20 art museums in the country for size.
The off-site stewardship centre by Boston-based firm, Schwartz/Silver Architects will provide space for the museum’s collection of 1.8 million objects to be stored and maintained. Slated for completion by 2019, the centre will also allow research and access to the collection.
“The new Collection Stewardship Center will allow the museum to provide a holistic approach to the care and conservation of its collection,” said Josh Basseches, deputy director for PEM.
“By unifying collection-related activity under one roof, the museum will be able to greatly increase curatorial and scholarly access to collections, which in turn, will enhance our ability to create transformative experiences of art and culture for our audiences.”
PEM’s Advancement Campaign is a multi-year model for museum finance, fundraising and operations. The plan – financed by museum patrons and supporters – aims to foster long-term financial stability through substantially increased endowment, allocating US$350m (€316.4m, £227.3m), while US$200m (€108.8m, £130m) has been earmarked for the expansion and the remaining US$100m (€90.4m, £65m) for infrastructure improvements.
"To maintain our priorities we have restructured expansion plans to meet our highest priority facility needs,” said Sam Byrne and Sean Healey, co-chairs of PEM’s Board of Trustees. “We want to avoid overinvestment in bricks and mortar, and maintain our commitment to long-term financial sustainability and programmes.”
Since the Advancement Campaign was started in 2013, the museum has renovated its 1970s-era Dodge Wing to create 12,000sq ft (1,114sq m) of gallery space for temporary exhibitions. Additionally, the museum’s interactive education spaces have been renovated and expanded, while a US$20m (€18m, £13m) renovation and improvement of PEM’s Phillips Library – one of the oldest and largest museum libraries in the country – is also underway, with designs by by Schwartz/Silver Architects. A spokesperson for the museum told CLAD that at this stage no contractor had been announced for the expansion.
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