The Muscarelle Museum of Art at William & Mary displays 8,000 works within a handsome brick volume defined by splashes of polychromatic color in the windows. The museum opened in 1983 in Williamsburg, Virginia. It was designed by Carlton Abbott, the youngest member of the original Sarasota School of Architecture. The art museum reopened this month after a two-year renovation and expansion project by Pelli Clarke & Partners. The campus now has a new, 42,000-square-foot addition. Its existing, 17,500-square foot museum building by Abbott was optimized for improved art storage and staff work areas. VHB was the landscape architect.Pelli Clarke & Partners honored both the 1983 structure by Abbott, and William & Marys signature Georgian and Colonial Revivalstyle architecture in its design. (Tom Harris)The new wing by Pelli Clarke & Partners, named the Martha Wren Briggs Center for the Visual Arts, shares an entrance with the Abbott building. The multistory entry offers a light-filled space for guests to enjoy, making for ease of access.Brick was arranged on the exterior in pleats that extend the full-length of the building facade. (Tom Harris)The expansion triples the museums exhibition space with the addition of nine new galleries. It also helps improve the visitor experience thanks to new amenities including the new lobby, but also a new a study center, cafe, museum store, and additional classroom spaces. Pelli Clarke & Partners honored both the 1983 structure by Abbott, and William & Marys signature Georgian and Colonial Revivalstyle architecture in its design. The addition rises three stories, creating what the architects call a butterfly-like interpretation of the original structure.The expansion has nine new classrooms. (Tom Harris)Meaningful architecture does not replicate the past but embraces it, weaving history into a vision for the future, William Butler, a partner at Pelli Clarke & Partners, said in a statement. The Muscarelle Museum at William & Mary stands as a reflection of its time and place, yet aspires to tell the timeless story of humanity through art. The gallery spaces are seamlessly integrated. (Tom Harris)(Tom Harris)The exhibition areas feature vertical lance windows, making for controllable and adjustable natural light and dynamic viewing experiences. Outside, VHB Landscape Architects conceived a new front courtyard in between the new wing and original Abbott building.An aerial view shows the museum in context with the other university buildings. (Tom Harris)The interiors are mostly white, so as to accommodate artworks of all types. David Brashear, Muscarelle Museum of Art director, called the project by Pelli Clarke & Partners an architectural triumph, as well as welcoming, expansive and celebratory.