Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology – Mainwaring Wing

The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology contains galleries and storage spaces for its world-renowned collections, as well as teaching spaces for Penn’s Anthropology Department. We have assisted the University Museum with the ongoing renewal and expansion of its landmark structure, which was originally designed by Wilson Eyre, Cope & Stewardson, and Frank Miles Day. The Museum is an eclectic architectural composition that has been added onto many times since opening in 1899. Our work at the Museum has included a Historic Structure Report and planning studies, preservation and rehabilitation of the existing building and courtyard, as well as gallery restorations and reinstallations. These efforts culminated in the 37,000 square foot Mainwaring Wing.

The Mainwaring Wing houses a state-of-the-art storage facility for the Museum’s celebrated ethnographic collections. In laying out the new wing, we created a clear division between the collection storage areas along the east side and studies, seminar rooms, and offices for scholars on the west side. The two primary facades of the addition reflect the dual nature of the building’s internal program. The east facade is clad in a limestone and bronze-panel rainscreen wall that provides a protective enclosure for the collections while the west facade is composed of brick and limestone which match the adjacent building, and large windows that provide views to the courtyard. In collaboration with OLIN Landscape Architects, our firm redesigned the historic Stoner Courtyard Garden to become a pedestrian, public open space.