RPBW & Arup through to next stage of contest to transform leading institution

The six designs shortlisted for the competition to transform and expand The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City have gone on public display, including the entry from a team led by Tenderstream member Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Fellow Tenderstream member Arup are on the same design team, for sustainability and engineering (structural, MEP and lighting). Arup also feature on two other shortlisted teams, headed up by Selldorf Architects and WHY Architecture. All six designs are on show in a free presentation at the museum until 1st June 2025 and are viewable online here.

The museum’s Board of Trustees aims to broaden the conventions of the museum – which offers free general admission – so it continues evolving as a place where everyone feels they belong. The project will integrate the campus, the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park, and two existing buildings into a cohesive new experience. The museum’s vision is crystallised as ‘Building Belonging’ – meaning a place where all feel welcome to dream and explore; a social space to hang out; a destination where people can create community.

The proposal by Renzo Piano Building Workshop responds to the brief by seeking to reconcile past and present, forging a museum for all. The original Beaux-Arts building, with its classical symmetry and civic grandeur, now stands in quiet dialogue with Steven Holl’s addition to the east. The design aims to restore balance between old with the new through interventions to the north and south. Sweeping, monumental stairs are transformed so that an open threshold welcomes visitors of every background. A transparent pavilion – light-filled and porous – erodes the boundary between institution and community. 

Competitors will now present to the architect selection committee, who will interview each team and recommend a winner to the Board for final approval. Julián Zugazagoitia, Director & CEO of the Nelson-Atkins, stated: “The teams have shone their beams of thought on our big questions: how do we synthesise our existing icons with a new proposition? How do we modernize and embrace the future but keep the best of our history? And, most of all, how do we create a museum that is transparent for all and instils a sense of belonging and well-being?”

Lucy Nordberg
Tenderstream Head of Research

This tender was first published by Tenderstream on 05.06.2024 here

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