Following last week’s look at an opening for a Deputy Director, Occupancy Management - Real Estate at the MTA Metropolitan Transportation Authority, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for an Exhibition Designer at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The role calls for an individual who will design special exhibitions, gallery projects, and gallery furnishings for the display of works of art in the museum. Specific tasks may include managing the design and documentation process for exhibitions, creating technical drawings and models of objects and spaces, and developing schedules for construction and object installation. Among the requirements for the role are model-making skills, design training and experience, and preferably a degree in art, architecture, or art history.

Why the role interests us

The role at the Philadelphia Museum of Art offers us the opportunity to take a look inside a museum that recently underwent a major renovation, reorganization, and interior expansion. The overhaul of the museum’s landmark 1928 building was the culmination of two decades of planning, design, and construction, overseen by Frank Gehry.

Under the scheme, which was completed in 2021, almost 90,000 square feet of space was unlocked in the main building, including a rebuilt West Terrace with integrated ramps for ADA compliance, and the renovated Lenfest Hall, which has historically served as the entrance to the museum. Elsewhere, the so-called Vaulted Walkway, a grand 640-foot-long corridor that spans the entire breadth of the building, has been opened to the public for the first time in 50 years.

In their renovation, Gehry Partners sought to honor the building’s original architectural language and materials, including using the same golden-hued Kasota limestone sourced from the same quarries in southern Minnesota that supplied the original 1928 project. Inside, the defining features of the renovation include two new glass and stone staircases with curving forms that accentuate the building’s central axis, and the newly-created Williams Forum, which rises 40 feet from the ground level up to an elegantly curved ceiling.

“The goal in all of our work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art has been to let the museum guide our hand,” Gehry said about the scheme. “The brilliant architects who came before us created a strong and intelligent design that we have tried to respect, and in some cases accentuate. Our overarching goal has been to create spaces for art and for people.”

Further reading for interested candidates

• Gordon Kipping's mass timber installation 'Maison de Cartes' is now open at SCI-Arc (April 2024)
• Influential 1970s women architects exhibition revisited in new Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation series (April 2024)
• MoMA exhibition on 20th-century Latin American design is a 'gem' says Michael Kimmelman (April 2024)
• Frank Gehry's 'Ruminations' comes to Madison Avenue (February 2024)
• Tadao Ando on 'Youth' and optimism for museum design (June 2023)
• Archinect's ongoing coverage of exhibition design
• Philadelphia Museum of Art's Archinect profile
• Archinect Tips: Employment Edition

Job Highlights is one of a number of ongoing weekly series showcasing the opportunities available on our industry-leading job board. Our Meet Your Next Employer series profiles and interviews interesting studios with open positions currently available on Archinect Jobs, while our weekly roundups curate job opportunities by location, career level, and job description.