Walking through Louis Kahn’s Center for British Art—where sunlight streams in from skylights, and concrete, wood, metal, and stone combine in precise yet monumental ways­—leaves one yearning for the days when museums, quite honestly, weren’t so sterile.

After comprehensive research on the history of the design and construction of Kahn’s last museum by London-based Peter Inskip and Stephen Gee, who created a conservation plan, several phases of work began in 2008, including exterior courtyard renovation (removing years of accretions like awnings and trellises), followed by interior restoration. The center was completely closed for a year and a half; it reopened to the public last month.