by Hannah Silverstein, MALS ’09
The expansion and renovation of the Hood Museum of Art begins this summer—and while planners are doing everything possible to minimize disruptions to the community, a few are inevitable, they say.
“We will do everything we can to mitigate noise and movement and vibrations,” says Lisa Hogarty, vice president of Campus Services. She says faculty, students, and staff should be aware of construction vehicles entering and leaving the worksite, especially along Wheelock Street, Vox Lane, and Crosby Street. Signs will be posted to help direct the public to detour routes, beginning July 18.
During construction, there will no longer be parking for bikes in the northwest corner of the Black Family Visual Arts Center, and only a few spaces for vehicles in the green tag lot behind New Hampshire Hall. In addition, the connector between Wilson Hall and the Hood Museum is now permanently closed.
This first stage of the renovation includes building an underground duct bank from behind the Visual Arts Center into the Maffei Arts Plaza; prepping a new base for the Shapiro sculpture, which will be moved closer to the west entrance of the Visual Arts Center on July 11; and constructing of underground utility paths from the heating plant to Wilson Hall. Temporary fencing has been installed around these work areas.
On Monday, July 18, the walkway through the Hood courtyard between Wheelock Street and the Maffei Plaza on Lebanon Street will close, so pedestrians should plan on detour routes through the Hopkins Center for the Arts to travel between Lebanon Street and the Arts and Innovation District. Likewise, the shortcut between Wilson and New Hampshire halls to the athletic fields will no longer be accessible. Bicyclists can use Crosby Street to travel between Wheelock and Lebanon Streets. Permanent fencing will be in place around the entire construction area.
While construction is underway, the facilities surrounding the Hood will remain open, including the Hopkins Center, the Visual Arts Center, New Hampshire Hall, and Wilson Hall. The west entrance to Wilson Hall will be closed, but the building will be accessible from the east side.
Demolition begins Aug. 1, and will be followed by excavation of the Hood courtyard, where the museum expansion will be built. Typical work hours will be weekdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Construction is expected to continue until winter term 2018.
The renovation and expansion of the Hood have been designed by National Medal of the Arts-winning architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, who were recently selected to design the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
Once construction is complete, the Hood will remain empty until spring 2018, to test the building’s climate-control system. Artwork will return to the museum throughout the summer and fall, and the Hood will celebrate its grand reopening in early 2019.
For ongoing construction information for this and other projects on campus, visit the Office of Planning, Design & Construction website.
This article originally appeared in Dartmouth Now.