Nelson Atkins Museum of Art design competition shortlist, Missouri architecture contest architects
Nelson Atkins Museum of Art design competition shortlist news
Kansas City Building design by Steven Holl Architects, USA
November 21, 2024
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art announces international design competition shortlist
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art International Design Competition Shortlist – key team members:
photo © Malcolm Reading Consultants
Nelson Atkins Museum of Art Kansas Design Contest
Finalists expanded to six teams following outstanding response to global open call
• Teams include diverse, celebrated architects; women principals lead over half the teams
• One hundred and eighty-two teams entered the competition from 30 countries on six continents
• Nelson-Atkins to host public event on December 12, 2024 to introduce teams to the community and share next steps
(Kansas City, MO – Nov. 21, 2024) The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art today announced the six finalist teams who will take part in the international design competition’s second stage.
From this shortlist, a winner will be chosen by the museum’s Architect Selection Committee (ASC) in Spring 2025 to transform the museum with a dynamic, open, and inviting design. The expansion’s goal is to attract new audiences by creating a vibrant space to host more art, and new creative, immersive and energizing experiences.
The museum’s Board of Trustees is intent on broadening the conventions of the museum – which is free to enter – so it continues becoming a place where everyone feels they belong. The project will integrate the campus, the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park, and the two existing buildings into a cohesive new experience.
The first stage of the competition, which launched in October 2024, attracted 182 teams from 30 countries on six continents. In recognition of the high quality of submissions, the museum’s ASC expanded the shortlist from the envisioned five to six teams. The finalists will now visit the museum for a detailed briefing and begin working on their concept designs over the next three months.
The finalists (by team lead and in alphabetical order) are:
• Kengo Kuma & Associates (Tokyo)
• Renzo Piano Building Workshop (Genoa)
• Selldorf Architects (New York)
• Studio Gang (Chicago)
• Weiss/Manfredi Architecture (New York)
• WHY Architecture (Los Angeles)
For full details on the teams, please see lower down this post.
“We were delighted with the extraordinary response from the global design community to our expansion project,” said Evelyn Craft Belger, Chair of the museum’s Board of Trustees and the Architect Selection Committee.
“Choosing the finalist teams was difficult given the extraordinary breadth of talent interested in the project. In keeping with the high expectations of the Kansas City community, the final list identifies some of the most respected designers working in museum architecture today. We look forward to seeing the six concept designs which will articulate six unique visions of a new and even more dynamic Nelson-Atkins.”
“The invitation to envision our future was a call-out to creativity,’ said Julián Zugazagoitia, Director & CEO of the Nelson-Atkins, “We’re at an invigorating moment for the museum. Though this is a complex project requiring deep analysis and rigor around the budget, all options are on the table. We want the finalist teams to make bold design moves and challenge the brief, while also respecting the existing museum spaces.”
“The interest in this project is a recognition of how the acclaimed Bloch Building expansion by Steven Holl captured the public imagination and was pivotal for the Nelson-Atkins in increasing museum attendance and access.”
“The Selection Committee was faced with a daunting task to select the best from over 180 submissions,” said Malcolm Reading, Competition Director.
“So, in the end, what shone through? The six teams presented outstanding credentials combined with creative leadership and forward-thinking. This list encompasses diversity, experience and design excellence. The next stage will test not only the teams’ pure design thinking, but also their ingenuity in how to draw and energize new audiences.”
Each finalist team will receive a competition fee of US$75,000 for their design work when the competition concludes with the selection of the winner.
The estimated construction budget of $160 million – $170 million (funded entirely by private donations) is one part of a larger, more comprehensive campaign starting in 2025. The campaign is expected to be the single biggest investment in the arts in Kansas City in recent years, contributing to the city’s future dynamism and vitality. The museum receives no public tax dollars for operations or capital projects.
The competition process is being led by an Architect Selection Committee chaired by Evelyn Craft Belger, also Chair of the museum’s Board of Trustees. A full list of selection committee members can be found at the conclusion of this release.
Public Event
On December 12, 2024, the Nelson-Atkins will host a presentation during which Zugazagoitia will introduce the competition and project. A representative of each team will discuss their general approach to architecture. For further details on format, tickets, and access, visit the event page.
In Spring 2025, the museum plans to host an exhibition of the finalists’ concept designs. The teams will have the opportunity to articulate their visions and their studio’s perspective of the challenge. Visitors will be encouraged to provide feedback to the museum on the different submissions.
Project Background
One of America’s finest art museums, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art cares for a superlative collection of more than 42,000 art objects. It is best known for its extensive Asian art, European and American paintings, photography, modern sculpture, Native American, African, and Egyptian galleries. It is surrounded by a 22-acre sculpture park.
Offering free admission, the museum, based in Kansas City, Missouri, is nationally and internationally acclaimed and serves a broad region within a 300-mile radius.
The museum is embarking on this new project in response to the increasing needs of its community, growing and increasingly diverse attendance, the desire to exhibit more art and collections, aspirations to serve future generations.
The competition program specifies a new addition (or ensemble of additions) of approximately 61,000 square feet, along with a part-renovation of the original Nelson-Atkins building, as well as activation and amplification of the outdoor campus – all framed within a thoughtful sustainability strategy.
Highlights of the new addition(s) will include a primary entrance and welcome foyer, a comprehensive photography center, new featured exhibition galleries, learning and engagement spaces for hands-on art activities, a black box-style theater for digital art and immersive programming, and a restaurant for indoor/outdoor dining and events.
For further information and future updates, please visit competitions.malcolmreading.com/nelson-atkins.
+++
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
The Nelson-Atkins in Kansas City is recognized nationally and internationally as one of America’s finest art museums. The museum opens its doors free of charge to people of all backgrounds.
The Nelson-Atkins serves the community by providing access to its renowned collection of more than 42,000 art objects and is best known for its Asian art, European and American paintings, photography, modern sculpture, and Native American and Egyptian galleries. Housing a major art research library and the Ford Learning Center, the museum is a key educational resource for the region.
The Nelson-Atkins is located at 45th and Oak Streets, Kansas City, MO. Hours are 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m. Thursday and Friday, closed Tuesday and Wednesday. The sculpture park is free to visit and open from sunrise to sundown. Admission to the museum is free to everyone. For museum information, phone 816.751.1ART (1278) or visit nelson-atkins.org.
Nelson Atkins Museum of Art Design Competition Shortlisted Teams
in alphabetical order:
Kengo Kuma & Associates
Kengo Kuma & Associates – Kengo Kuma:
photo courtesy of J.C. Carbonne and Kengo Kuma & Associates
Kengo Kuma & Associates – Richard Nelson:
photo courtesy of Kengo Kuma & Associates
With offices in Tokyo and Paris, Kengo Kuma & Associates has garnered international acclaim for its work on high-profile cultural projects, including Tokyo’s Japan National Stadium for the 2020 Summer Olympics and the V&A Dundee Museum in Scotland. Other notable recent achievements by the firm include the Asakusa Culture and Tourism Center in Tokyo, Japan, the Hans Christian Andersen Museum in Odense, Denmark, and the Albert Kahn Museum in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. KKAA is joined by Landscape Architects GGN, Engineering Firm Buro Happold, and Preservation Consultant Post Oak Preservation Solutions.
kkaa.co.jp/
Renzo Piano Building Workshop
Elisabetta Trezzani:
photo courtesy of Renzo Piano Building Workshops
Luigi Priano:
photo courtesy of Renzo Piano Building Workshops
We are proud to announce our collaborative design team for the Nelson-Atkins Museum renovation and expansion, comprising the Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW), Arup, and West 8. RPBW, established by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano in 1981, will serve as the lead design architect, bringing extensive experience from over 140 projects worldwide, recognized for its innovative approach and commitment to excellence.
Arup will contribute its expertise in MEP and structural engineering, fostering a creative relationship with RPBW that has spanned over 50 years and includes more than 100 projects across four continents. West 8, a leader in landscape architecture and urban design, will shape the museum’s outdoor spaces, ensuring meaningful connections to the surrounding community. Together, we aim to deliver a transformative project that honors the museum’s legacy while enhancing community engagement and sustainability.
rpbw.com/
Selldorf Architects
Reed Hilderbrand – Eric Kramer:
photo © Sahar-Coston Hardy courtesy of Reed Hilderbrand
Selldorf Architects – Annabelle Selldorf:
photo © Stephen Kent Johnson courtesy of Selldorf Architects
Selldorf Architects is an internationally renowned 70-person design practice founded by Annabelle Selldorf in New York City in 1988. They are currently working on the renovation and expansion of The Frick Collection, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and the National Gallery London.
Driven by a shared commitment to transform museums into more welcoming, sustainable, and inclusive environments, Selldorf’s team includes Reed Hilderbrand Landscape Architects, Indigenous Consultant Two Row Architect, Structural Consultants Guy Nordenson and TYLin Silman, Atelier Ten for Sustainability and Arup as MEP, Theatre/Acoustics lead. All of these firms have collaborated closely together on other projects and are committed to supporting the Nelson-Atkins in its mission to reach a wider and more diverse audience.
selldorf.com
Studio Gang
Studio Gang – Jeanne Gang:
photo © John David Pittman
Studio Gang – Juliane Wolf:
photo © Lyndon French
Founded and led by TIME 100 Honoree Jeanne Gang, Studio Gang is an international architecture and urban design practice headquartered in Chicago. Driven by an ethos of “actionable idealism”, Studio Gang designs places that bring about measurable positive change for people, communities, and the natural environment. Notable projects include the reimagined Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts and the celebrated Gilder Center at the American Museum of Natural History.
For the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Studio Gang has assembled field-leading experts in sustainability, inclusive design, and museum engineering with top Kansas City talent. This team includes Landscape Architect SCAPE, Inclusion & Engagement Consultant JSA/MIXdesign, Sustainability Consultant Atelier Ten, Urban Designer and Civil Engineer Burns & McDonnell, Cultural Strategist Snyder Consultancy, Historic Preservationist Heritage Consulting Group, Structural Engineer Thornton Tomasetti, and MEP Engineer Altieri.
studiogang.com
Weiss/Manfredi Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism
Weiss/Manfredi – Marion Weiss, Michael Manfredi
photo courtesy of Shuli Sadé and Weiss/Manfredi
WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism is a New York City-based multidisciplinary practice known for the dynamic integration of architecture, art, infrastructure, and landscape. Founded by Marion Weiss and Michael A. Manfredi, notable projects include Seattle’s Olympic Sculpture Park, the Women’s Memorial at Arlington Cemetery, Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Visitor Center. Current work includes the US Embassy in New Delhi, India, La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, and revitalizing the western side of Lincoln Center of the Performing Arts in New York City.
This US architecture firm was recognized with the 2024 Louis I. Kahn Award, and the 2020 Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal, the Architectural League’s Emerging Voices award, the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Architecture. The team is supported by Landscape Architecture firm SCAPE, Spatial Designers WeShouldDoItAll, Structural Engineer Severud, Sustainability consultant Atelier Ten, MEP/FP Engineer Jaros, Blum, & Bolles, and Kansas-city Civil Engineers Taliaferro & Browne.
weissmanfredi.com
WHY Architecture
WHY Architecture – Brian Butterfield:
photo courtesy of WHY Architecture
WHY Architecture – Kulapat Yantrasast:
photo courtesy of WHY Architecture
Founded in 2004 by Kulapat Yantrasast, WHY Architecture is a full-service architectural design practice dedicated to creating connections between people, culture, and place with two-decades of experience working with museums and cultural institutions. With offices in Los Angeles and New York City, the practice is organized as three interdependent design workshops: Architecture, Landscape, Museums—spanning projects from ground-up institutions to exhibition design.
Recent and ongoing projects include the complete renovation of the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing at The Metropolitan Museum of Art; the design of the newest department at the Louvre dedicated to Byzantine and Eastern Christian Art, alongside a renovation of the existing Roman galleries; the 130,000 SF Dib Contemporary Art Center in Bangkok, Thailand; and the expansion and renovation of the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky.
The team includes Structural Engineer TYLin Silman, MEP Engineer Arup, and Sustainability Consultant Atelier Ten.
why-site.com
Architect Selection Committee
The finalists’ proposals will be judged by the museum’s Architect Selection Committee:
• Evelyn Craft Belger, Board Chair and Chair of the Architect Selection Committee
• Rick Green, Trustee and Immediate Past Chair of the Board
• Valerie Chow MD, Trustee
• Paul DeBruce, Trustee
• Linda Woodsmall-DeBruce, Member of the Committee on Collections
• Bill Gautreaux, Trustee
• Don Hall, Jr., Trustee
• Shirley Bush Helzberg, Trustee Emerita
• Neil Karbank, Board Secretary
• Sandra Lawrence, Board Treasurer
• Greg Maday, Trustee
• Ramón Murguía, Former Trustee
• Mark O’Connell, Trustee
• Kent Sunderland, Trustee
• Julián Zugazagoitia, Director & CEO of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Malcolm Reading Consultants
Malcolm Reading Consultants (MRC) is a strategic consultancy that helps clients to imagine and define contemporary environments, both built and natural. MRC is the leading specialist in devising and managing design competitions internationally. We believe in the power of design to create new perceptions and act as an inspiration.
MRC has run over 200 design competitions in settings including Antarctica and Australia; London and Washington, D.C.; Oxford and Cambridge; and Houston and Riyadh, for extraordinary and emblematic projects representing over US$50 billion of construction value.
malcolmreading.com
Nelson Atkins Museum of Art design competition shortlist images / information received on 21 November 2024
Steven Holl Architects, NY, USA
Previously on e-architect:
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.
photo : Andy Ryan
photo : Andy Ryan
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
Missouri Architecture
Missouri Architecture Designs
Artery Residence, Kansas City
Architects: Hufft
photo : Michael Robinson Photography
New Residence in Kansas City
Lee’s Summit School District R-7 – Missouri Innovation Campus
Design: Gould Evans ; Associate Architects: DLR Group
image courtesy of Chicago Athenaeum
Missouri Innovation Campus Building
Saint Louis Art Museum Expansion
Nelson Atkins Museum of Art Architect : Steven Holl Architects, based in New York City, NY, USA
Comments / photos for the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art design competition shortlist – Kansas City Building design architects page welcome.