Ann Beha Architects appointed for Boston Museum of Fine Arts campus master program plan
The
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), has
commissioned Ann Beha Architects (ABA) of
Boston to develop a Master Program Plan for its
campus, including The Forsyth Institute property
that the MFA purchased in September 2007. The
Forsyth Institute’s historic Beaux Arts building,
located at 140 The Fenway adjacent to the MFA
building’s east side, extends the Museum’s landmark campus along Boston’s historic Fenway.
ABA's Master Program Plan will examine the MFA’s current and projected space needs and
analyze how the Museum's facilities could accommodate them. The effort will include a
comprehensive assessment of the Forsyth property, and will explore how to integrate it
programmatically as well as physically into the MFA.
“The purchase of the Forsyth building provides an opportunity to reassess the MFA’s entire
campus and determine the best ways to use our real estate to achieve our strategic goals,” said
Malcolm Rogers, Ann and Graham Gund Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. “ABA’s
experience in adapting historic buildings, coupled with the firm’s understanding of Boston and
its communities, will serve the Museum well as we look toward successfully incorporating the
Forsyth property into the MFA’s environs.”
Completed in 1914, The Forsyth Institute comprises approximately 115,000 sq ft on 1.6
acres of land bordering Forsyth Way and the Fenway. It overlooks the Back Bay Fens
portion of Frederick Law Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace, as do the Museum and the School of the
Museum of Fine Arts. The newly expanded MFA campus represents the largest frontage along
the Fens. ABA will address the relationship between the Fens and the Forsyth property,
recognizing the importance of the landscape to the Fenway neighborhood. The Master Program
Plan will incorporate information gathered from meetings with Museum staff, Trustees, and
community leaders, and will include sustainable design principles. The MFA has also hired
Smith + St. John Inc., a Boston-area development and project management services group, to
serve as owner’s representative in managing this effort.
“This project joins heritage with future vision. These significant buildings, with their extensive
frontage on the historic Fens, reflect the Museum’s identity and reach,” said Ann Beha, Principal
of ABA. “Our job is to find the most creative path for the Museum as it expands its remarkable
campus.”
The Building Project is expected to be completed in late 2010.
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