Project Details
- Project Name
- Nancy and Rich Kinder Building at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
- Location
-
Houston ,Texas ,United States
- Architect
- Steven Holl Architects
- Client/Owner
- The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
- Project Scope
- New Construction
- Size
- 164,000 sq. feet
- Year Completed
- 2019
- Shared by
- Symone Garvett
- Team
-
Steven Holl, Chris McVoy (Design Architects)
Chris McVoy (Partner in Charge)
Olaf Schmidt (Senior Associate)
Filipe Taboada (Project Architect)
Garrick Ambrose, Xi Chen, Carolina Freue, JongSeo Lee, Suk Lee, Vahe Markosian, Maki Matsubayashi, Elise Riley, Christopher Rotman, Yun Shi, Alfonso Simelio, Dimitra Tsachrelia, Yasmin Vobis, Christina Yessios, Yiqing Zhao (Project Team)
- Consultants
-
Kendall/Heaton Associates,The Projects Group,Structural Engineer: Guy Nordenson and Associates,null: ICOR Associates,Lighting Designer: L'Observatoire International,Other: Transsolar,Other: Venue Cost Consultants,Other: Knippers Helbig
- Project Status
- Concept Proposal
Project Description
FROM THE ARCHITECTS:
Today the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, has a unique chance to expand and unite its campus as an integral experience open to the community. We envision a new horizontal extension of landscape as a unifying character of the entire Fayez S. Sarofim campus. The new 164,000-square-foot museum building shaped by gardens of horizontal porosity is open on all sides. A public plaza will be integrated with the new 80,000-square-foot Glassell School of Art.
To realize a horizontal campus unity, all parking will be below ground. Visitors arriving by car will begin the museum experience in a lower arrival hall and sculpture court, directly connected to the new lobby and the Caroline Wiess Law Building.
The Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden by Isamu Noguchi is horizontal and slow-moving. We envision the new Brown Foundation Plaza as a space of activity, complementing these spaces of contemplation and reflection, extending the inspiring character of the new MFAH all along Montrose Street. The existing administration building and the new Glassell School of Art will enjoy new sculpture plaza views, uniting them as campus buildings. All the street edges of the museum building will be open and inviting, celebrating qualities of an urban campus.
The architecture of the existing MFAH campus is an important part of its collection. The original 1924 neoclassical stone building is of modest scale and integral to Hermann Park. The Law Building with the architecture of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is a subtle composition of transparent glass and steel. The Audrey Jones Beck building by Rafael Moneo in stone is in contrast to the Law Building directly across the street.
Within this horizontal collection of stone (1924), steel and glass (1958, 1974), and stone (2000), we envision a horizontal architecture in translucent glass. The curved glass elements will have a soft texture, alabaster-like. At night the glowing translucent walls will be reflected in the water gardens and provide an open invitation to enter the museum. In complementary contrast, the new building will provide a strong contribution to the existing unique collection of MFAH architecture.
