The museum unveiled Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates' redesign of the famed greenery in late 2013. According to the Gardner, said redesign is meant "to interpret the museum’s meandering gallery layout, and the rich colors and textures of its idiosyncratic collection, in a contemporary landscape context"

The aquarium completed its biggest renovation ever in 2013, including a top-to-bottom redo of its Giant Ocean Tank, which is exactly what it sounds like: a four-story, 200,000-gallon tank. The renovation replaced the 52 viewing windows and allowed the tank to raise its capacity from about 700 fish to around 1,000.

The university unveiled the Renzo Piano redesign in late 2015. Its main focus was an extension upward of the Italian Renaissance-style courtyard in the original Fogg Museum portion. A steel-and-glass pyramid now crowns it, flooding the below floors with natural light.

The permanent exhibition opened in late March of 2016. According to the museum, it is meant to explore "the intersection of natural and engineered worlds through the lens of the Charles River." The three-story gallery is also part of larger renovations at the museum that are expected to wrap this summer. That work will create a new entryway to the exhibit halls and provide digitized signage, among other upgrades.

A three-year, multi-phase renovation of the 1972 wing designed by the late Philip Johnson is expected to come to an end this summer. The end result? A more modernized and inviting branch, plus a new connection between the Johnson Building and the older McKim wing.

The college had considered turning the 115-year-old theater into a dining-hall-dominated student activity center, but vociferous opposition scotched those plans. The Colonial will instead remain a venue for the performing arts. It does need some work, though, including re: its heat and air-conditioning as well as a possible expansion of its orchestra pit. Stay tuned.