Design Architects

The Getty Villa and Museum in Malibu, CA	Provincetown Art Association and Museum in Provincetown, MA	Utah Museum of Art in Salt Lake City, UT

The selection of the design team for the new facility was made on January 17, 2006 by The Mint Museum's Board of Trustees, based on the recommendation of the Architect Selection Committee. The talented design team represents a coalition of strength stretching down the East Coast -- Machado and Silvetti Associates of Boston (design architect), Clark Patterson Associates of Charlotte (architect of record) and George Sexton Associates of Washington, D.C. (museum consultant).

Patricia Rodgers, Chair of The Mint Museum's Board of Trustees, elaborates on the design team choice. "During the interview process, the Selection Committee felt strongly that this team demonstrated a passion for every aspect of what The Mint Museum is trying to accomplish for the community. We could see their ability to collaborate in everything they told us and everything they showed us. The Selection Committee was also impressed with how well they demonstrated a cohesive understanding of our need to project two different identities for the new art museum and the Mint Museum of Craft + Design. They articulated a programming process that will capture the input of staff, board, affiliates, members and the community." 

Machado and Silvetti Associates is a 40-person architecture and urban design firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm has carefully developed a national reputation for designing distinctive spaces and unique works of architecture in both size and scope. Their work can be seen in the United States and abroad in cities such as Beirut, Boston, Buenos Aires, New York, San Francisco, Venice and Vienna. With over 40 years of combined experience, principals Jorge Silvetti and Rodolfo Machado have developed a national reputation for design that finds its roots in context, material and craft.

Machado and Silvetti Associates have designed new museums, expansions of existing ones, and buildings for prominent cultural and educational institutions. Their designs include the Getty Trust, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, the Snite Museum of Art, the Addison Gallery of American Art, the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, as well as the Boston Public Library, and Harvard, Princeton and Rice Universities.

The firm understands that creativity and success in the design process depend on a productive, intense and efficient process of interaction with a collaborative project team, including the museum's director, trustees, curators and staff. This initial stage of the design process focuses as much on understanding the culture of the client as it does on the production of an appropriate architectural expression for that culture.

Principal-in-Charge Rodolfo Machado received his Diploma in Architecture from the University of Buenos Aires and his aster of Architecture in the area of architectural theory and criticism from the University of California at Berkeley. A member of the Harvard University faculty since 1986, Mr. Machado is a Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design at the Graduate School of Design and currently chairs the Department of Urban Planning and Design.

Machado stated, "We have wanted to work with this team for a long time and are very, very happy to be the design architect on the project. This represents a fantastic opportunity for the life of the city. It will enrich the livelihood and urbanity of Charlotte, and will create a wonderful block with a public plaza and connections to shops and the stadium.

Consulting Principal of design Jorge Silvetti received his Diploma in Architecture from the University of Buenos Aires and his Master of Architecture in the area of architectural theory and criticism from the University of California at Berkeley. Since 1975 he has held numerous teaching positions at the Graduate School of Design of Harvard University. He also served as the chair of the Department of Architecture at Harvard University from 1995-2002 and as juror of the Pritzker Prize from 1995-2004.

Both men began their architectural practice together in 1974 and incorporated Machado and Silvetti Associates in 1985. Their firm has won numerous awards in architecture and design. Each man is also a frequent juror for architectural competitions and has written for a number of architectural publications.

Visit their Web site, for a more detailed account of their work.

Provincetown Art Association and Museum in Provincetown, MA	Utah Museum of Art in Salt Lake City, UT
The Getty Villa and Museum in Malibu, CA	The Getty Villa and Museum in Malibu, CA