Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum has entered its second month behind closed doors as developers are working on a £12m refurbishment project.

The Courtyard Development – supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund – began on 22 December last year and is due for completion by June this year.

The main purpose behind the project is to make the museum more accessible, with refurbished galleries and redisplayed collections. The aim is to gain an additional 3,000 sq m of space over four floors to improve visitor circulation.

Other developments will include enhancing the facilities for temporary exhibitions and the creation of new galleries for medieval, renaissance and 20th and 21st century art. There will also be a new ceramic study centre and new IT resources will be created alongside the extended education spaces.

The café and shop will also be expanded at the heart of the museum.

The development has been 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 the arts of the 21st century, including masterpieces by Canaletto, Monet and Picasso.

Over 250,000 people visit the museum annually and the reopening in June will be accompanied by a host of relaunch events and activities. Details: www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk