Waterbury, Connecticut

Mattatuck Museum

Founded in 1877, the Mattatuck Museum is a keeper of artifacts and place for community engagement around regional history and Connecticut-based art. Our Museum Master Plan provided a comprehensive strategy for space use and compelling vision for an enhanced visual identity in Waterbury through renovation and new construction.

A previous addition was removed to make way for a street-level plaza and sculpture garden connecting to the original building with an expanded, accessible lobby providing space for ticketing, retail, events, and exhibition. New classrooms on the ground and mezzanine levels support education programs. In the expanded, flexible gallery spaces on upper levels, visual connection is maintained with the adjacent Waterbury Green through broad banks of windows.

A new zinc-clad addition provides multipurpose space and a 3,300 square-foot roof terrace overlooking Waterbury Green. Used by visitors as well as for private outdoor events, the terrace is both secure and connected to public life.
Client
Mattatuck Museum
Status
Completed 2021
Project Size
Renovation | 14,000sf
New Construction | 6,800sf
Program
Visitor Service, Exhibition, Classroom, Roof Terrace
“The goal of this project was to literally open up the museum to our community and to welcome them into their museum, and this renovation does that and more. The transformation enables us to tell more of the untold stories of our region, to welcome more people, and to broaden our education, exhibition, and event possibilities.”
— Robert Burns, Director, Mattatuck Museum
Large windows along the sidewalk allow pedestrians to engage with exhibitions before entering the building. The new addition is clad in zinc, an alloy of brass that hearkens back to Waterbury’s past fame as the “Brass Capital of America.” The new landscape doubles as a sculpture garden, bringing art into the public sphere.

Our Process

Ann Beha Architects, now Annum Architects
Project Team
Steven Gerrard AIA, Ashley Merchant AIA, Carl Damas (ABA/Annum); GNCB Consulting Engineers (Structural); Altieri (MEP); Sladen Feinstein Integrated Lighting (Lighting); Solutions Engineering (Code); SLR (formerly Milone & MacBroom) (Landscape / Civil); Wil-Spec, LLC (Specifications); Downes Construction (Construction Management); Chuck Choi (Photography)

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New Britain, Connecticut
New Britain Museum of American Art

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