Quiet triumph for the Fitzwilliam: on 1 June, the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge unveils a major addition to its buildings. Designed by John Miller + Partners, it is notable both for its quality and for what it reveals about the changing role of university museums and galleries in England

Apollo, June, 2004 by Michael Hall

Many museums are greatly admired; few are deeply loved. Among the latter, the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge ranks very high. It has all the assets that make for lovability: a rich but not overwhelmingly large collection, handsome buildings and a beautiful setting. Its special character as a university museum has shaped its personality, as its collections have been built up largely by gift and bequest from graduates since its foundation in 1816. Although art history is a relatively new subject at Cambridge--it became a degree course only in 1961--many generations of undergraduates have had their interest in art sharpened if not awakened by visits to the Corinthian splendours of its galleries.

The Fitzwilliam's place in the affections of so many across the world means there is an unusually acute interest in the unveiling on 1 June of a major addition to its buildings. This 12 million [pounds sterling] development adds a large new exhibition space and curatorial offices and workshops, but is chiefly designed to improve the museum's public facilities, with a new shop, care and educational rooms. Although such additions have become common enough in the age of the National Lottery--which has provided nearly 50% of the cost--there is a special interest in the Fitzwilliam's addition. Quite apart from its inherent quality-and it should be said at once that the architects, John Miller Partners, have achieved a quiet triumph--it reveals much about the role and status of Britain's university museums, which at last, after two fairly grim decades, are confronting the future with renewed confidence.

An extension with a long history

It would not be surprising if the museum's director, Duncan Robinson, and its curators feel some apprehension about the critical reception the new building will receive, as it is the culmination of a tortuous genesis. There is a striking contrast between the confidence and success of the museum's building projects up to the mid-twentieth century and the hesitancy and indecision that has marked its architectural development from then until now. When the original building, designed by George Basevi and C.R. Cockerell, opened in 1848, its spacious opulence set a new standard for museum architecture and the display of works of art. Between 1924 and 1936, under the inspirational directorship of Sydney Cockerell, new galleries were added to the south of the founder's building. Designed by Smith and Brewer, architects of the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff, they doubled the size of the original building but were only a fragment of Cockerell's vision: the main range of his additions was intended to be the north side of a large new quadrangle, but only short return blocks to the east and west were ever constructed.

By the time that the museum embarked on further building, ambitions were more limited. A 1975 extension, designed by David Roberts and Partners, forms an L-shaped block attached to Cockerell's extension to form a long, narrow quadrangle (see the plan overleaf). The building was cheap--it cost only 100,000 [pound sterling]--and serviceable, in that it gave the museum a much-needed new library and a gallery for temporary exhibitions, but in architectural terms it was an anticlimax, its pallid brick walls almost comically mean in comparison with the earlier buildings. Over the next twenty-five years several other schemes for extension were considered: there was even for a short time discussion about glazing Basevi's portico to create extra space.

Then in 1993, there was a limited competition for an extension on the north side of the Founder's Building, overlooking the gardens that separate the museum from Peterhouse. This was won by John Miller, with a design for a pavilion consisting of an underground coin room, an extension to the antiquities galleries at first-floor level, and a gallery for cabinet pictures above. This proposal aroused strong opposition, not least from Peterhouse, because of its impact on the museum's garden setting.

When Duncan Robinson became director, in 1995, he recognised that the northern extension did not address the need to improve public facilities and access. He commissioned from John Miller a feasibility study designed to identify every potential site for expansion. The two preferred proposals were for a new building within the 1970s courtyard, and a southern extension towards Trumpington Street. These projects formed the basis of an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund in 1998 for 15 million [pounds sterling] towards the 25 million [pounds sterling] cost. As Mr Robinson recalls, he was told by the HLF that he could hope for only half of that, 'so let us know what you can do for less'. As a result it was decided to focus solely on the courtyard scheme, 'and I think we have realised its full potential as a result of being forced to go back and rethink it'.

There was then a further competition, which John Miller Partners won. The courtyard scheme which has now been unveiled is a success to set beside the architect's other major museum projects of recent years, which include Tate Britain's centenary development and the on-going refurbishment of the Royal Scottish Academy for the National Galleries of Scotland. The Fitzwilliam's addition consists of a narrow building inserted into the courtyard, rising its full height, but occupying only about two thirds of its area. The remainder of the courtyard forms a public circulation space, under a glazed roof. The new building has four levels, linked by a new lift as well as stairs. Its basement consists of a seminar room, studio space for activities such as painting and drawing and a lunch room. At ground-floor level, there is a shop and care, both of which open into the courtyard. From here there are tempting glimpses into the surrounding ranges of the Smith and Brewer building, which contain collections of armour and ceramics; the relationship between public facilities and gallery space--separate but looking into each other--has been well thought-out.