A New Home for the Shaker Museum

With groundbreaking set for Spring of 2025, the Shaker Museum is building a 21st-century museum to bring the world’s most comprehensive collection of Shaker material culture and archives to the public.

The design of the four-floor facility, located in Chatham, NY is by Selldorf Architects, renowned worldwide for creating subtle but powerful art spaces. The new museum includes the transformation of an historic building and construction of a modern addition and surrounding public gardens.

The design and the programming envisioned for this new facility re-examines the experience and interaction of a visitor with a museum while keeping practicality and inclusivity at the forefront, ranging from the arrival experience to common space usage to exhibition accessibility.

The museum design has more than 7,500 square feet of space for permanent and rotating exhibitions. It will also host events, workshops, academic meetings, and be available for public use and help serve as a community anchor.

The physical space’s design embodies and perpetuates the core ideals that were at the foundation of Shaker culture, applying them in a modern and relevant context and form. The glass façade on the ground floor entrance area, for example, is accessible and welcoming – just like Shaker communities.