The Wadsworth Atheneum, the USA’s oldest public museum, has slowly grown over time, resulting in a maze of unconnected, small rooms. The design for the renovation and extension increases gallery space and improves the traffic flow. The rigid grids of the existing buildings are interwoven with a fluid circulation system which revolves around the central hollow core. The addition of 1969 is replaced with a central distributor space which gives access to the separate buildings, whilst accommodating for their differing floor heights. It creates a new, transparent entrance, actively inviting people in and increases gallery space by a third. At the new entrance, an enclosed glass-walled concourse spans the entire museum. A cone-shaped opening, woven in fine metal mesh, descends from the rooftop to provide light.
