Master Planning for Museums

While a Strategic Plan sets the direction, a Master Plan asks “What happens if ...?” It explores multiple alternatives to find the right balance of audience and programmatic goals with market and fundraising realities, before the museum invests in detailed master planning, architectural design, or embarks in a new direction.


Sometimes, a Museum Master Plan is the first step in planning a new building or a major expansion.  Just as often, it results in a new programmatic direction, a new business model, or as the foundation for a fundrasing campaign.

Why take the time to develop a Strategic Master Plan?

This is simple: Planning is cheap. Executing is expensive.

Taking the time to develop a Strategic Master Plan allows a museum to think through and test alternatives before commitments are made for a change in direction or for new design and construction.

Planning is cheap. Executing is expensive chart

How We Work


A Museum Master Plan asks “What happens if ...?”

Learn more about

our Planning Process


Learn more about

How We Think About Museums


Our unique Museum Master Planning process is the crucial step before architectural and exhibit planning and design.