KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City announced last week it will work with a London-based company to conduct an international competition that’s part of future expansion at the museum.
The museum’s Board of Trustees last week selected Malcolm Reading Consultants to manage the architectural competition.
The company has managed similar competitions for the Dallas Museum of Art, Houston Endowment, the National Gallery in London and Powerhouse Parramatta in Sydney.
Architects will be able to enter the competition this fall, with the competition set to last six months.
“We have spent several years weighing both the needs of the museum and the community and have given careful consideration to a number of studies performed by Cooper Robertson, a museum planning firm,” Evelyn Craft Belger, Chair of the museum’s Board of Trustees, said in a news release
Belger says the board “wholeheartedly embraces” the architectural competition after exploring several scenarios.
The museum is coming up on its 100th anniversary of opening to the public.
The original grounds, which included landscaping on both the south and north sides of the original main building, opened to the public in 1933.
The museum expanded in 2007 with the opening of the Bloch Building.
“This competition will be a fascinating proposition for architects who love art and culture,” Julián Zugazagoitia, director and CEO of the Nelson-Atkins, said in the release. “At the second stage of the competition, we will be looking for designs that inspire community engagement and attract new audiences through exemplary design that will be position the Nelson-Atkins to serve guests for generations to come.”
Malcolm Reading company has established an e-mail address for architects to sign up for details on the competition’s launch.
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