The Hood Museum of Art reopens following renovation by Tod Williams Billie Tsien

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.
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.
In a new atrium, a welcome desk sits next to gallery entrances. Courtesy of the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College
Elegant brick work is broken up by openings that offer glimpses into the new galleries. Courtesy of the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College
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
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
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
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).
-
Michael Rider’s joyful Celine debut: ‘I’ve always loved the idea of clothing that lives on’
Presented today in Celine’s Paris HQ, the designer’s astute debut balanced the house’s recent legacy with a fresh, contemporary vision which nodded to his American roots
-
The Richard Mille x Brough Superior RMB01 is a motorcycle with an exceptional aesthetic pedigree
The RMB01 is what happens when horological obsession meets two-wheeled excellence: a Franco-Swiss racing motorcycle that brings out the best in both brands
-
Six modern bathroom ideas for spaces big and small
Here are our best bathroom designs for 2026: colours, curves and a calming ambience are making a splash this season, with tactile and textured surfaces to elevate your shower room
-
A Rancho Mirage home is in tune with its location and its architect-owners' passions
Architect Steven Harris and his collaborator and husband, designer Lucien Rees Roberts have built a home in Rancho Mirage, surrounded by some of America’s most iconic mid-century modern works; they invited us on a tour
-
Inside Frank Lloyd Wright’s Laurent House – a project built with accessibility at its heart
The dwelling, which you can visit in Illinois, is a classic example of Wright’s Usonian architecture, and was also built for a client with a disability long before accessibility was widely considered
-
Tour this fire-resilient minimalist weekend retreat in California
A minimalist weekend retreat was designed as a counterpoint to a San Francisco pied-à-terre; Edmonds + Lee Architects’ Amnesia House in Napa Valley is a place for making memories
-
A New Zealand house on a rugged beach exemplifies architect Tom Kundig's approach in rich, yet understated luxury
This coastal home, featured in 'Tom Kundig: Complete Houses', a new book launch in the autumn by Monacelli Press, is a perfect example of its author's approach to understated luxury. We spoke to Tom Kundig, the architect behind it
-
Tour architect Paul Schweikher’s house, a Chicago midcentury masterpiece
Now hidden in the Chicago suburbs, architect Paul Schweikher's former home and studio is an understated midcentury masterpiece; we explore it, revisiting a story from the Wallpaper* archives, first published in April 2009
-
The world of Bart Prince, where architecture is born from the inside out
For the Albuquerque architect Bart Prince, function trumps form, and all building starts from the inside out; we revisit a profile from the Wallpaper* archive, first published in April 2009
-
Is embracing nature the key to a more fire-resilient Los Angeles? These landscape architects think so
For some, an executive order issued by California governor Gavin Newsom does little to address the complexities of living within an urban-wildland interface
-
Hop on this Fire Island Pines tour, marking Pride Month and the start of the summer
A Fire Island Pines tour through the work of architecture studio BOND is hosted by The American Institute of Architects New York in celebration of Pride Month; join the fun