The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art International Design Competition – Creating a Museum for All – is a global open call for an outstanding architect-led multi-disciplinary team to design a world-class addition for one of the United States’ finest art museums.
This is a two-stage international design competition comprising an open call for submissions – including team composition, relevant experience, company details, and an initial project reaction – followed by a design stage for a shortlist of up to five competitors.
Once a winner has been selected, the museum will work with them to identify a partner design firm registered to practice in the State of Missouri.
Based in Kansas City, Missouri, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art cares for a superlative collection of more than 42,000 art objects and is best known for its extensive Asian art, European and American paintings, photography, modern sculpture, African, Native American and Egyptian galleries.
Offering free admission to all, and funded by private support, the museum is nationally and internationally acclaimed and serves a broad region within a 300-mile radius.
Rarely is a museum gifted with two architectural icons. Here, the first, an original Beaux Arts monument, was funded by the visionary legacies of William Rockhill Nelson, founder of The Kansas City Star and civic leader, and Mary McAfee Atkins, an educator turned arts philanthropist. The second, the much-admired and innovative Bloch Building by Steven Holl in 2007, introduced a luminous presence: large glass sculptures that descend the expansive hilltop site in a series of “lenses”.
Now the museum is embarking on a third evolution in response to rising and increasingly diverse attendance and a rapidly growing city. The capital campaign associated with this initiative will be the single biggest investment in the arts in Kansas City in recent years (funded by private not public tax dollars) and contribute to the city’s future dynamism and vitality.
The museum aims to become a beacon of inclusivity, creativity and social connections. 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: a Nelson-Atkins for All.
The competition warmly welcomes US, international, emerging and established studios.
No design is required at the first stage. Rather, teams will need to study the Search Statement, and submit their approach to the project, team composition and relevant experience, as well as company details, through the digital form.
At the second stage, up to five teams will be selected to engage with the museum and prepare concept designs. An exhibition of the finalist concept designs will be held at the museum in Spring 2025 and the schemes will also be available to view online, giving the community an opportunity to view the submissions and give their feedback before the museum’s Architect Selection Committee meets to interview the finalists and recommend a winner for The Nelson-Atkins Board of Trustees’ ratification.
Each of the five finalist teams will receive a competition fee of $75,000 at the conclusion of the process.
Please check the official website for complete details.
