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Established in 1913, the 385,000-square-foot museum in the University Circle neighborhood of Cleveland is well-known for its collections of pre-Columbian, medieval European and Asian art, and often is host to concerts, films and lectures.
But with ever-increasing patronage culminating in 500,000 visitors annually in recent years, museum officials decided it was time to expand.
A $285 million addition, designed by renowned architect Rafael Viñoly, is under way.
Area museum patrons are eager to see Viñoly's work carried out.
"They don't have a huge area, but I think they have some spectacular, world-class pieces of art here," said Mentor native Tim Paine, who accompanied his grandmother, Shirley Gibson of Willoughby, on a visit to the museum last week. "I'm hopeful that with the renovations, that they will be able to exhibit more pieces that they have in storage."
Gibson, whose hobby is painting, is a frequent visitor to the museum. She has enjoyed watching the transformation unfold.
"I love art, and I can't think of anything I don't enjoy here," Gibson said. "I think the renovation is fascinating and very ambitious."
A work in progress
CMA Director Timothy Rub says the 200,000-square-foot addition will allow the museum to display more works of art and better accommodate large traveling exhibitions.
Renovations and repairs to existing buildings also will take place and are critical to preserving the museum's world-class art collection, Rub said.
Phase 1 of the renovation project, which began in 2006 and is expected to be completed in 2011, was recently finished, and museum officials are looking forward to Phase 2.
"This important project will completely transform the Cleveland Museum of Art and enable it to maintain its rank as one of the most important art museums in the country," Rub says.
"Our architect, Rafael Viñoly, has developed a thoughtful design that both responds to the history of this institution and, at the same time, clearly looks to the future. We are very excited about this project, and would like the public to know more about it and the significant progress we have already made towards its realization."
The past meets the future
The Cleveland Museum of Art's main building, designed by the leading Cleveland architectural firm Hubbell and Benes, was constructed in 1916.
It has been expanded three times: in 1958, 1971 and 1983.
The renovation project, for which the general contractor is Mayfield Village-based Panzica Construction, will bring utility systems up to date, refurbish historic galleries and increase the overall size of the museum to 585,000 square feet, including approximately 35,000 square feet of additional gallery space.
It will refurbish CMA's two architectural landmarks, the Beaux-Arts south building, constructed in 1916; and the north building, designed by architect Marcel Breuer and constructed in 1971.
Two additions, an east wing and a west wing, will flank the new facility, and a 34,000-square-foot courtyard with a soaring glass canopy will crown the center of the structure.
The project also will enhance visitor amenities with new rest rooms, an expanded store and café, and an increase in parking capacity to 625 spaces.
Museum officials say the courtyard will be the central point of orientation and the setting for events and public programs held throughout the year.
"Windows will also be used, especially in the east wing, to provide daylight and transparency to the galleries, and help give visitors a sense of connection between the art and the outside city," said Laura Andrews, communication assistant for the museum.
The first phase of the project included the renovation of the original building and the 1971 Breuer addition, as well as the construction of a central utility plant and the new wing on East Boulevard.
The second phase, which began this month, will complete Viñoly's plan with the construction of a basement level in the area between the original building and Breuer's addition, the new wing to the west, and the enclosed courtyard.
To accommodate the renovation, the museum was closed to the public from January through October 2006. It is now partially open.
"As this work proceeds, exhibitions and events continue at the museum, and masterworks from our permanent collection are receiving international acclaim as they tour the world in a series of traveling shows," Rub said.
An architect's dream
Finding the right architect to design the new addition was no easy task.
After completing a thorough analysis of the museum's current facilities in 2000, the CMA's Board of Trustees initiated a search.
Rub said it was important that the architect be both sympathetic to the history and character of the institution, and capable of shaping a broad and compelling vision of its future.
The right match was found in Viñoly.
Widely acclaimed as one of the leading architects of his generation, Viñoly is renowned for his elegant, expressive use of structural form and modern materials such as glass and steel.
His work also reflects a sensitivity to context and an intuitive understanding of how to respond to a specific site - attributes that made him an ideal choice for the project, Rub said.
Viñoly was born in Uruguay in 1944, and by age 20, he was a founding partner of Estudio de Arquitectura, which would become one of the largest design studios in Latin America.
In 1983, he founded Rafael Viñoly Architects P.C., a New York-based firm that has grown to encompass affiliate offices in London and Los Angeles.
Viñoly has completed many critically acclaimed civic projects, as well as private and institutional commissions.
His first major New York project was the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, completed in 1988.
In 1989, he won an open international competition to design the Tokyo International Forum, the largest and arguably most important cultural complex in Japan.
Viñoly's design of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia in 2001 marked a similar success in the United States.
The building prompted other commissions, including Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, and the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
Viñoly said getting the chance to design the addition for the Cleveland Museum of Art was an honor.
"Perhaps the most exciting thing about the architect's life is to see dreams on paper come to life," he said in a prepared statement. "For me, to be a part of this wondrous, historic project at the Cleveland Museum of Art means being a part of an awakening that plays a major role in the life of this great city."
The Cleveland Museum of Art, 11150 East Blvd., is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays; and from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Admission is free, with a charge for special exhibits. For more information, call (216) 421-7350 or (800) CMA-0033, or visit www.clevelandart.org.
