Architecture, a slow art that takes time to be realized, is expected to last for years. But surprisingly often, a building is remodeled, expanded, or even torn down, before its once-imagined expiration date. This weekend, the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, reopens as an intriguing case study of this process.
Originally designed in 1985 by Charles Moore and Chad Floyd of the Connecticut firm Centerbrook Architects and Planners (RECORD, February 1986), the narrow, dark brick building was an energetic example of the postmodern architectural style—replete with a cornucopia of arches, Egyptoid columns, Flemish bond brickwork, bullnose stringcourses, a rotunda, and much more. Today, 34 years later, it looks quite different after an intensive modernist reworking by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects (TWBTA) of New York. The need to add more gallery and office space, update mechanical systems, plus attend to wear and tear prompted the undertaking.