Over the past twenty years Cooper Robertson has led an international field of over thirty-five museums through their reinvention and expansion.
The firm's unique practice blends museum planning with architectural design, resulting in the highest standards for the display and preservation of the world's most distinguished collections and some of the world's best museum architecture.
Since each institution is unique, we have developed an approach to programming and planning that utilizes each institution's mission, goals, and needs as the fundamental basis of design, rather than relying solely on an individual vision or rule-of-thumb metrics. This methodology brings a high level of definition to each museum's architectural program, which embodies underlying architectural thinking that guides our master planning and design.
Programming
Cooper Robertson led a comprehensive programming and planning study for an international museum of modern art that examined all programmatic areas required to accommodate the needs and goals of the Museum for the next twenty years in order to address its growing audiences, programs, collections, and staff.
Master Planning
Cooper Robertson worked with a University Museum to address their needs for additional space in all areas of their 20,000 square foot facility in anticipation of the gift of a large collection. We reviewed program assumptions, examined off-site storage opportunities, and developed options for building improvements and expansion.
The Site and Facilities Plan for the George Washington's 550-acre Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens defined future facilities needs for research, outreach, collection care, and administrative functions and identified possible sites to accommodate new development away from historically sensitive areas.
