Morris Steinert Collection
of Musical Instruments

New Haven, CT

The Morris Steinert Collection of Musical Instruments is a teaching museum – a rich resource combining multidisciplinary research, exhibits, and performing space. This renowned collection on Yale University’s Campus combines display and performance with conservation.

A+B's renovation included a two-story stone addition with fenestration and stone coursing inspired by the historic facade. This replaced an outdated single-story, brick addition. The meeting of the old and new is revealed with a vertical glass wall within the new stair. This planning move also helped negotiate the change in the site's geometry while giving patrons views of the Farmington Canal landscape outside and the original building's brick face on the inside.

The fully renovated keyboard gallery and performance space is a critical component in the building’s program. Many of the instruments from the musical collection are not only on display, but are also playable. An all new HVAC system preserves and maintains the historical pieces while supporting an acoustic quality that befits the character of the instruments which are played in the space. New adjustable lighting and movable instrument platforms allow for flexibility of exhibits and performance locations that accommodate numerous audience seating configurations.

The original building was built in 1895 as the fraternity house of Alpha Delta Phi, designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style by New Haven architect William H. Allen, and remains the main entrance for visitors.

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