Extending its creative reach from beyond just an inward look at its extensive collections of art, the Clark Art Institute recently completed a remodeling project that embraces the landscape of its home in the Berkshires. Through the collaborative design talents of Tadao Ando Architect & Associates, Selldorf Architects, Reed Hilderbrand Landscape Architecture, and Gensler, the Clark has been transformed into a stunning visual unit combining the natural beauty of Massachusetts and a design that enhances the art.
The new addition of the Clark Center, designed by Ando, provides a centerpiece and a main entrance for the institute’s campus. Ando intended to develop a space for viewers to release their “creativity and freedom of thinking” as they view special exhibitions on multiple levels, explore the Clark store, or visit Café Seven. Ando also created a corridor made of granite and glass as a transitional space between the Clark Center, the reflecting pool area, and the Museum Building. The space was created as one of several to encourage viewers to stay and to understand the beauty of the interior and exterior.

The Clark’s Museum Building endured the biggest architectural intervention, according to Annabelle Selldorf of Selldorf Designs. Selldorf removed former office spaces and storage areas to add more than 2,200 square feet of gallery space for the permanent collections. A tiered reflecting pool unites the Clark Center, the Museum Building, and the Manton Research Center, while providing a dual view of the architectural and natural beauties of the institute’s campus.
The Clark Art Institute opened its newly organized campus on July 4.
