Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum has reopened its doors to the public after a £12m refurbishment project.

The building work – supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund – began on 22 December 2003. The main purpose of the work was to make the museum more accessible, so galleries have been refurbished and collections redisplayed.

The heart project was the construction of a new, four-storey building which has been inserted into a redundant courtyard in order to provide extra gallery space and improve visitor circulation around the museum.

A new Applied Arts study room in the Ceramics Reserve has also been added, alongside new IT resources and education spaces, a seminar room and a studio.

Duncan Robinson, director of the museum, said: “The Courtyard has provided the catalyst for a whole series of improvements from one end of the museum to the other; from the lighting and the display of objects in the galleries to new facilities for research and teaching.”

The development was designed by architects John Miller & Partners, who have previously worked on the Tate Gallery’s centennial development, the Whitechapel Art Gallery and the Royal College of Art.

The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art museum of Cambridge University and houses one of the world’s foremost Rembrandt print collections. Other treasures range from ancient Egyptian antiquities to masterpieces by Canaletto, Monet and Picasso.

Over 250,000 people visit the museum every year. Details: www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk