Clark Center

Opened in 2014, the 42,600-square-foot Clark Center, designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Tadao Ando and implemented by architect of record Gensler, includes more than 11,000 square feet of gallery space for special exhibitions; the Michael Conforti Pavilion for conferences, lectures, and events; dining, retail, and family spaces; and an all-glass Museum Pavilion that creates a new entrance to the original Museum Building. In 2016, the Clark Center earned LEED Gold Certification. 

Museum Building

The white marble Museum Building opened on May 17, 1955 after a three-year construction period. Only two galleries were on view and a majority of the works in the collection were not yet displayed.
 
The Museum Building was reconceived by Selldorf Architects in 2014; executive architect Gensler oversaw implementation of the renovations. Improvements included the addition of more than 2,200 square feet of new gallery space for a total of 17,700 square feet (43,770 square feet overall); a thoughtful renovation of the existing galleries; and installation of new lighting and environmental controls.

Manton Research Center

The 107,460-square-foot Manton Research Center, the Clark's red granite administrative building, was completed in 1973 and included spaces for an expanded library, a new graduate program, and additional galleries.

Selldorf Architects designed the renovations to public areas in the building, which include the Manton Study Center for Works on Paper; the Manton Gallery for British Art; the Eugene V. Thaw Gallery for Works on Paper; the Henry Morris and Elizabeth H. Burrows Gallery; the Lauzon Glass Study Gallery; a reading room; and new galleries for American decorative arts.

Lunder Center at Stone Hill

The 32,000-square-foot Lunder Center at Stone Hill, designed by Tadao Ando and opened in 2008, houses two gallery spaces totaling 2,790 square feet in which the Clark presents smaller special exhibitions. The building houses the Williamstown Art Conservation Center—the largest regional conservation center in the country—, the Hunter Studio, and a seasonal terrace café.

Landscape

The Clark's 140-acre campus encompasses a landscape of expansive lawns, meadows, and walking trails. The sweeping redesign of the Clark’s 140-acre grounds by landscape architecture firm Reed Hilderbrand included creation of a three-tiered reflecting pool; upgrades to and expansion of walking trails; green roof systems; planting of some 1,000 new trees; and creation of a new entry drive and landscaped parking areas with water-permeable surfaces that feed into a rainwater and snowmelt collection system.
About / Architecture

ABOUT THE ARCHITECTURE

Combining the talents of noted architects, the Clark’s reimagined campus unites a new Clark Center designed by Tadao Ando Architects (Osaka, Japan) with an expanded Museum Building and the renovated Manton Research Center, both designed by Selldorf Architects (New York). These buildings surround a new three-tiered reflecting pool, the highlight of a dramatic rethinking of the Clark’s landscape designed by Reed Hilderbrand (Cambridge, Massachusetts). Gensler (New York) was the executive architect. The project adds more than 13,000 square feet of gallery space to support the Clark’s expanded collection and exhibition programs, and establishes the Institute as a leader in best practices for sustainability and energy efficiency.

The Clark began as a single white marble museum building designed by architect Daniel Perry; construction began in 1952 and the museum was opened to the public in 1955. In 1973 the red granite Manton Research Center, designed by Pietro Belluschi and The Architects Collaborative to house a library, graduate seminar rooms, galleries, offices, and an auditorium, was completed. In the late 1990s, a comprehensive master plan for the 140-acre campus was commissioned from Cooper, Robertson & Partners; this was completed in 2001. Also in 2001, architect Tadao Ando was invited to plan and design two complementary buildings: Lunder Center at Stone Hill, which made its debut in 2008, and the newly completed Clark Center. These additions, combined with a thoughtful remodeling by Selldorf Architects of the existing buildings as well as a long-term enhancement of the grounds by landscape architecture firm Reed Hilderbrand, enrich the Clark experience for lovers of art and nature, curators, scholars from near and far, students, and local residents alike.


Tadao Ando Wins the 2016 Isamu Noguchi Award

Architect Tadao Ando has been selected by the Noguchi Museum as a recipient of the 2016 Isamu Noguchi Award. The award recognizes innovators aligned with the global-mindedness embodied in the craft of trailblazing designer Isamu Noguchi. Read the article in Architectural Digest here.
Photo, clockwise from left: the Ando-designed Clark Center; a site visit in 2012 with (left to right) Kulapat Yantrasast of wHY Architecture, Masataka Yano of Tadao Ando Architect & Associates, and Tadao Ando; Ando and former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick at the Clark's grand opening celebration in June 2014.