The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is one of the foremost art collections in the country, specializing in Renaissance through 19th century painting and decorative arts. Entirely unique in its time and today, it was designed as both a personal residence and a museum to fire the imagination and engage the public in an intimate relationship with a whole range of arts. To preserve and further expand the scope of its offerings, Renzo Piano Building Workshop was commissioned to design a new building and landscape next to the Gardner Museum, including a conversation lab, an exhibition space, greenhouses, and a performance hall.
We worked closely with the Museum Director and staff to reposition the institution and shape its brand strategy around the museum as an immersive twenty-first century salon which was introduced in a comprehensive campaign to coincide with the building’s opening. A complementary graphic identity, wayfinding and navigation system seamlessly tied the museum’s iconic, signature galleries with new casual public spaces and intimate spaces to view contemporary art and performance, establishing the Gardner as an immersive 21st Century Salon where art, music, horticulture, and education converge.
