The Hood Museum of Art reopens in Dartmouth, USA

The Hood Museum of Art in Hanover, New Hampshire, opens with a new design by New York-based architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien. Courtesy of the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College

(Image credit: Michael Moran)

By Ellie Stathaki

last updated 20 October 2022

in News

The carefully renovated and expanded Hood Museum of Art in Hanover, New Hampshire, US is gearing up to throw open its doors to the public. The refreshed institution, which is owned and operated by Dartmouth College, has been given a two-year-long makeover by New York-based architecture duo Tod Williams and Billie Tsien.

The museum, which ties into Dartmouth College's academic activities, now features a new central space – the Russo Atrium – as well as new gallery and research spaces. Education areas are also given a boost, ‘with an emphasis on the arts at Dartmouth', explains the institution. ‘The building is a hybrid of newly constructed facilities and restored and updated spaces from the original 1985 Charles Moore building, and provides active spaces for teaching, exhibition, exploration, and dialogue', add the architects.

A museum with stone carvings and antique elements

The museum has just completed an extensive facelift including renovations and new elements. courtesy Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College

‘We have worked closely with the team at the Hood Museum and Dartmouth College to design a progressive teaching museum while preserving many of the distinctive features of the Charles Moore building', says Williams. ‘The conversation throughout has been both pedagogical and architectural. The renovation of, and addition to, the existing Hood creates a complementary dialogue between old and new, extending the identity and functions of the institution well into the future.'

Not only does the new design safeguard the museum's collections and allows more space for them to be seen, studied and admired (specifically increasing the Hood’s exhibition space by 42 per cent); the redesigned and expanded museum also demonstrates the College’s commitment to the arts for future generations.

Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth entrance lobby — In a new atrium, a welcome desk sits next to gallery entrances. *Courtesy of the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College*

Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth brick wall — Elegant brick work is broken up by openings that offer glimpses into the new galleries. Courtesy of the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College

Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth interior — The renovated second-floor galleries feature contemporary African art, Melanesian art, and contemporary Aboriginal Australian art. *Courtesy of the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College*

Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth gallery — The Hood’s new Northeast Gallery shows an installation of postwar collection highlights. *Courtesy of the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College*

INFORMATION
For more information visit the website of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects

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Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).