Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Missouri Architecture Photos, Design, Architect

Nelson Atkins Museum of Art : Kansas City Architecture

Kansas City Building design by Steven Holl Architects, USA

Mar 21, 2008

Location: Kansas City, Missouri, USA

Dates built: 2002-07

Design: Steven Holl Architects

Nelson Atkins Museum of Art Extension

photo : Andy Ryan

Nelson Atkins Museum of Art Kansas

New York City, December 20 2007 – Since it’s opening on June 9th 2007, Steven Holl Architects’ addition to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, MO has been lauded by leading national press and prestigious architecture communities.

Capping off an award-winning year, TIME magazine’s Richard Lacayo just voted the museum #1 in its Top 10 of Best Architectural Marvels of 2007 (December 24, 2007) stating: “Adding a new wing to a neoclassical museum, Holl devised a spectacular update on classicism…The effect against the nighttime sky is nothing short of magical.”

This praise joins the critical acclaim of The New York Times’ Nicolai Ourousoff who wrote on June 6, 2007: ‘By subtly interweaving his building with the museum’s historic fabric and the surrounding landscape, he has produced a work of haunting power. For the art world, the addition, known as the Bloch Building, should reaffirm that art and architecture can happily coexist…He has created a building that sensitizes visitors to the world around them.

It’s an approach that should be studied by anyone who sets out to design a museum from this point forward.’ Similar commendation was given by architecture critic Paul Goldberger, who recently wrote,” The building is not just Holl’s finest by far, but also one of the best museums of the last generation” (New Yorker, April 30 2007).

photo : Andy Ryan

This critical acclaim in the media has been accompanied by several prestigious awards. On November 29th, the museum received the New Built Award by LEAF London and most recently it been awarded with the AIA Central States Award for Excellence in Architecture and the AIA Kansas Honor Award for Excellence in Architecture. Steven Holl Architects, always focusing on a high quality of its architectural details, has been awarded a staggering five AIA Kansas City Awards for Craftsmanship for the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art for the handrails, coat check and visitors desk, glass, board-formed concrete and plaster.

photo : Andy Ryan

The Board of Trustees for the Nelson Gallery Foundation recently issued this statement: ‘Steven Holl Architects demonstrated outstanding dedication and commitment to the campus transformation project at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. With their hard work and concentration on excellence, our partnership to create a visitor experience that visually delights and provides connection to the art is a success. The single-mindedness and enthusiasm demonstrated by Steven Holl Architects are praised and commended by every Trustee, staff member and volunteer.’

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art info from Susan Grant Lewin Associates 21 Dec 2007

Steven Holl Architects, NY, USA

Location: Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas, USA

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