ART
MUSEUM DISTRICT MASTERPIECE MFAH CAMPUS TAKES SHAPE
The excitement is truly building at the convergence of Main St ., Montrose Blvd . and Bissonnet St . in the Museum District . At the end of May , the Museum of Fine Arts , Houston broke ground on the Nancy and Rich Kinder building for modern and contemporary art , designed by Steven Holl Architects .
It ’ s a transformative moment for the campus : The 165,000sf structure will house 54,000sf of gallery space for exhibitions and for the Museum ’ s collections of modern and contemporary art . The building will be clad in a translucent glass exterior , which will glow when lit from within at night , and its perimeter will be inset with six pools of water at ground level .
But , it ’ s more than just a pretty face . Additional features include a 200-seat theater , a cafe , a restaurant overlooking the sculpture garden and an underground parking garage . One pedestrian tunnel will connect the Kinder Building to the new Glassell School of Art , and a second will connect it to the existing Caroline Wiess Law Building , across Bissonnet St .
The 14-acre redesign of the Museum ’ s Susan and Fayez S . Sarofim Campus – which , in addition to the new Kinder Building , features the reimagined Glassell School of Art ( also by Steven Holl Architects ), a landscape plan with multiple public plazas by Deborah Nevins & Associates and the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Center for Conservation by Lake | Flato Architects – will expand the role the Museum plays in the daily life of Houston , not only as a cultural institution but as an urban oasis open to all , invigorating the surrounding area .
The entire project is slated for completion in late 2019 . Already , the combined capital and endowment campaign has reached nearly $ 390 million , more than 85 percent of its $ 450 million goal – because Houston is philanthropic by design . www . collections . mfah . org / blogs / futuremfah / shovels-out-the-nancy-and-rich-kinder-building-breaks-ground
By Tim Moloney
32 LOCAL | july 17