The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art has launched a global open call to find an outstanding architect-led team for a world-class expansion that will transform the museum with a dynamic, open, and inviting design. The goal of the expansion is to attract new audiences and design a center that speaks to community, creating a museum for all.

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.

Rarely is a museum gifted with two architectural icons. The original Beaux Arts building is a traditional museum in neoclassical revival style, while the second, the much-admired and innovative Bloch Building, was a luminous addition by US architect Steven Holl in 2007 following an invited design competition. 

Now the museum is embarking on a third evolution in response to the increasing needs of our community, growing and increasingly diverse attendance, and desire to serve future generations. The capital campaign to fund this initiative will be the single biggest investment in the arts in Kansas City in recent years and will contribute to the city’s future dynamism and vitality.

Strategically, the museum’s Board of Trustees is intent on expanding the conventions of the museum, so it becomes a more dynamic, open, and inviting place; 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.

"This expansion solidifies the Nelson-Atkins’ foundational desire to reach all audiences, particularly those for whom art is not familiar,” said Julián Zugazagoitia, Director & CEO of the Nelson-Atkins. “It will enable the museum to better serve our community, and I envision a vibrant space for visitors to become energized by art and immersed in new and creative experiences."

The design competition is being organized by architect search specialists Malcolm Reading Consultants. The competition is open to all local, regional, national and international firms.

The competition program specifies a new addition (or ensemble of additions) of approximately 61,000 square feet and 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.

The estimated construction budget is $160 million – $170 million. The project will be funded entirely by private donations. The museum receives no public tax dollars for operations or capital projects. The comprehensive capital campaign will start in 2025. 

The competition will feature a public exhibition of the finalists’ concept designs in spring 2025. The Nelson-Atkins will invite the community to provide feedback at that time.

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. 

Competition format 

The official language of the competition is US English. No design is required at the first stage — rather, designers will need to study the Search Statement (available on the competition website) and submit their approach to the project, team composition and relevant experience, as well as company details, through a digital form.

The competition’s first stage requires integrated multidisciplinary design teams comprising at a minimum: lead design architect, landscape architect, engineering disciplines (including structural, services and sustainability), and heritage advisor (if central to the team’s approach). Teams may include additional consultants deemed necessary to the design approach if required.

At the second stage, finalist teams may propose additional consultants to enhance their design concept, including exhibition designer, lighting designer, catering specialist and access consultant.

Up to five teams will be shortlisted and each will receive a competition fee of US$75,000 for their design work when the competition concludes with the selection of the winner.

Please note: once the Nelson-Atkins has selected a winner, the museum will work with them to identify a partner design firm (Architect of Record) registered to practice in the State of Missouri. Lead architects are discouraged from approaching local firms outside this forthcoming process. 

The finalists’ proposals will be judged by the museum’s Architect Selection Committee which comprises:

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, Chair 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

The deadline for first stage responses is: 10:00am CDT (UTC-5) Tuesday, October 29, 2024. The competition’s second stage will start in late November 2024; the winner announcement is expected in spring 2025.

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.

For more information, visit the competition's website. 

Top image in the article: Image courtesy of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

> via Malcolm Reading Consultants

architecture competition