The major expansion and re-organization of the Peabody Essex Museum unifies a disparate group of buildings with new gallery spaces in small house-like pavilions and a dramatic glazed atrium and interior street.

Located in the historic seaside town of Salem, Massachusetts, the Peabody Essex Museum houses one of the nation’s premier collections of Asian, Asian Export, Maritime, Oceanic and Native American art, Early American decorative art, and folk art. Originally founded in 1799, it is the oldest continuously-operating museum in the United States. A merger with the Essex Institute in 1992 resulted in a significant expansion of holdings, underscoring the need for a clearer organization of galleries and public areas.

• Collaborators

  Ove Arup & Partners, Structural, Mechanical, Electrical, Acoustics
  Turner Construction Company, Construction Manager
  Fisher Marantz Stone, Lighting Design
  Edwards and Kelcey, Civil Engineers
  Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Landscape Architect
  Jon Roll and Associates, Graphics and Signage

• Awards

  Best of Boston Award, Best New Building, 2003
  
  Build Massachusetts Award Grand Honor, AGC Massachusetts, 2003

• Clients

  Peabody Essex Museum

• Cost

  US $54 million