Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/519582
t m c » p u l s e | j u n e 2 0 1 5 32 Artistic Expansion The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston unveils the designs for a dramatic redevelopment of its campus visitors a privileged perspective for viewing the interconnected campus. That vision is steadily becoming reality. This past January, the MFAH revealed designs for a striking rede- velopment of its 14-acre campus. Consisting of a unifying master plan, a 164,000-square-foot building for largely unseen 20th and 21st-century works of art and a new, 80,000-square-foot home for the Glassell School of Art, all con- ceptualized by Steven Holl Architects— as well as the preliminary concepts for a state-of-the-art conservation center by Lake Flato Architects—the campus is beginning to take shape. The project, which will begin later this year and is slated for completion B y A l e x O r l a n d o in 2019, will transform the MFAH, as well as its surrounding neighbor- hood, marking a major contribution to Houston's increasing emphasis on enhancing the pedestrian experience of the city. More than $350 million of the MFAH's $450-million capital and endowment campaign goal has been raised to date, primarily from Houston- based philanthropists. "This newly unified campus will allow us to reshape and reinvigorate the museum experience," said Gary Tinterow, director of the MFAH. "I think it will also position the museum to participate in the future of Houston's civic life in ways that are welcoming to everyone—both regular museumgoers and first-time visitors alike." Housing a collection that now spans 6,000 years of artistic expression and embedded among a rich architectural tapestry, the MFAH has solidified its status as a cradle of culture. Enhancing that foundation, the new structures will be carefully knit into the fabric of the campus—one already marked by archi- tects William Ward Watkin, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Rafael Moneo, as well as a sculpture garden by Isamu Noguchi. Overarching landscape plans will unify these distinctive elements, from modernist steel and glass to neo- classical limestone, to create new public spaces and cultivate an accessible urban campus. "A luminous glass building will anchor the northeast corner of the campus, rising up across the street from the black steel of Mies van der Rohe's Caroline Wiess Law Building and the limestone of Moneo's Audrey This newly unified campus will allow us to reshape and reinvigorate the museum experience. I think it will also position the museum to participate in the future of Houston's civic life in ways that are welcoming to everyone— both regular museumgoers and first-time visitors alike. — GARY TINTEROW Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston T he year is 2019. Punctuated by a chorus of chirping birds and the shuffle of eager footsteps, visitors to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), prepare for a full day. At the heart of the recently completed Fayez S. Sarofim Campus, a translucent exhibi- tion building, allowing natural light to illuminate the three-tiered atrium within, rises up in complimentary contrast to the black steel and limestone structures across the street—once the sun sets, the building will emit a soft, mesmerizing glow. Seven vertical gardens peppered around the exterior of the building evoke a lush, urban oasis. From atop the reimagined Glassell School of Art building, a trellised roof garden allows The Fayez S. Sarofim Campus, spanning 14 acres and slated for completion in 2019, marks a major contribution to Houston's efforts to enhance the pedestrian experience.