The Barnes Foundation to Add New Flexible Education Space to Philadelphia Campus

Philadelphia — Today, the Barnes Foundation announced that it will begin construction this month on a 4,000-square-foot addition to the Philadelphia campus. Designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners as a multi-use space, the Garden Pavilion is scheduled to be completed in summer 2017. The Pavilion will align with the design of the main building, conceived by the same architects.

The Garden Pavilion will provide an additional facility for Barnes–de Mazia education and K–12 classes, special programming for members, community group meetings, and public programs including seminars and lectures. The Pavilion will also house additional dining space to enhance the Foundation’s food services and will be available for community partners, members, and visiting groups.

“The concept of the Garden Pavilion has been under consideration for some time,” says Peg Zminda, Barnes executive vice president, CFO & COO, “but we felt it important to carefully assess how it would best advance our public mission before embarking on the project. Although 4,000 square feet is a modest increase to our 93,000-square-foot building, the Pavilion will allow us to significantly enhance the educational experience of all students and our amenities for visitors.”

“The Garden Pavilion will enable us to accommodate many more students, participants in our programs, and groups than we are able to serve now,” says Thom Collins, Barnes executive director and president. “With our expanded programming, it will offer new space for educational activities and a deeper engagement with the Barnes via discussions and various educational forums.”

The Garden Pavilion will be located on the northeast corner of the Barnes Foundation’s Philadelphia campus, closest to Pennsylvania Avenue and 21st Street and adjacent to the Garden Restaurant. Once complete in summer 2017, guests will be able to access the Garden Pavilion via the Garden Restaurant’s outdoor dining space, as well as through the Annenberg Court. There is little anticipated impact on visitors during construction, as the work will take place on the side of the building opposite the galleries.

The Barnes will also expand its kitchen facilities located in the Garden Restaurant. To accommodate the construction, the Barnes has closed the Garden Restaurant until spring 2017, and dining service has moved to a temporary dining room on the Lower Level. The Canvas Coffee Bar, usually located on the Lower Level, has temporarily relocated to the Annenberg Court. When the kitchen renovation is complete in the spring, the Garden Restaurant will reopen with an updated menu and an open-concept kitchen visible from the dining room. The expanded kitchen will also serve the dining space within the Pavilion.

The construction of the Garden Pavilion will be financed by the Barnes Foundation, using funds remaining from the original Parkway construction campaign, and other public and private funds.

LF Driscoll Company is the construction manager for this project.

ABOUT THE BARNES FOUNDATION 

The Barnes Foundation was established by Albert C. Barnes in 1922 to “promote the advancement of education and the appreciation of the fine arts and horticulture.” The Barnes holds one of the world’s finest collections of impressionist, post-impressionist and early modern paintings, with extensive works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Henri Rousseau, Amedeo Modigliani, Chaim Soutine, and Giorgio de Chirico; works by American masters Charles Demuth, William Glackens, Horace Pippin, and Maurice Prendergast; Old Master paintings; important examples of African sculpture; Native American ceramics, jewelry, and textiles; decorative arts and ironwork; and antiquities from the Mediterranean region and Asia. 

While most collections are grouped by chronology, style, or genre, art at the Barnes is arranged in ensembles structured according to light, line, color, and space—principles that Dr. Barnes called “the universal language of art.” The Foundation’s programs include First Fridays, young professionals nights, tours, tastings, and family programs, as well as Barnes–de Mazia Education Program courses and workshops. These programs advance the Foundation’s mission through progressive, experimental, and interdisciplinary teaching and learning. The Barnes Foundation is open Wednesday–Monday, and tickets can be purchased on-site, online, or by calling 215.278.7200. Ticket prices and current hours are listed on our website. 

The Barnes Arboretum in Merion contains more than 2,500 varieties of trees and woody plants, many of them rare. Founded in the 1880s by Joseph Lapsley Wilson and expanded under the direction of Laura Leggett Barnes, the living collections include 40 state champion trees, a Chinese fringe tree (Chionanthus retusus), a dove tree (Davidia involucrata), a monkey-puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana), and a coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens). Other important plant collections include lilacs, peonies, Stewartias, ferns, medicinal plants, hostas, and magnolias. The Horticulture Education Program has offered a comprehensive three-year certificate course in the botanical sciences, horticulture, garden aesthetics, and design since its establishment in 1940 by Mrs. Barnes. The arboretum also offers horticulture workshops and lectures and is open to the public Saturday–Sunday during the summer months. Tickets can be purchased on-site, online, or by calling 215.278.7200. Ticket prices and current hours are listed on our website. 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION 

Deirdre Maher, Director of Communications 
215.278.7160, press@barnesfoundation.org