Museum Of Fine Arts Houston At 1001 Bissonnet St.

[Houston19514]

It's nice that the New York Times did a big piece on him. A good recognition of his work and the stature of the Houston arts community.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/arts/design/12marzio.html?_r=1

He will be hard to replace. But no doubt the MFAH will have no shortage of exceedingly well-qualified applicants.

[lockmat]

I wonder if the museum and/or his replacement will continue with his plan for that new building?

[august948]

From the Chron...

http://www.chron.com...an/7583567.html

The new building will house post-1900 art. Not sure if this is going up on the parking lot about a block north of Bissonnet on Montrose. The article suggest just across Bissonnet from the main museum buildings.

Edited May 27, 2011 by august948

[Simbha]

Excellent new, IMO. I wonder what the name will be... It's possible it's named for the Alfred Glassell, Jr or even Peter Marzio himself - or another major donor, if one emerges.

It's exciting to see some great names being batted around for the design firm.

To the mods: This topic may be best merged with (the?) original topic found here: http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/24047-new-mfah-building.

[Houston19514]

Excellent new, IMO. I wonder what the name will be... It's possible it's named for the Alfred Glassell, Jr or even Peter Marzio himself - or another major donor, if one emerges.

It's exciting to see some great names being batted around for the design firm.

To the mods: This topic may be best merged with (the?) original topic found here: http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/24047-new-mfah-building.

I'd put my money on Peter Marzio.

[bachanon]

mfah website link/map

press release on the mfah website includes the placement of the new building and links to each of the three architectural firms.

[Subdude]

Excellent new, IMO. I wonder what the name will be... It's possible it's named for the Alfred Glassell, Jr or even Peter Marzio himself - or another major donor, if one emerges.

It's exciting to see some great names being batted around for the design firm.

To the mods: This topic may be best merged with (the?) original topic found here: http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/24047-new-mfah-building.

Done.

I hope the new building is more of a success than the Beck. Marzio went the "starchitect" route with the latter and I think it turned out a fairly major disappointment design-wise.

[Simbha]

Done.

Thanks. Just out of curiosity -- How are the number of views of a topic on the forum affected by topic merges? Does the system just sum the views?

[Simbha]

I hope the new building is more of a success than the Beck. Marzio went the "starchitect" route with the latter and I think it turned out a fairly major disappointment design-wise.

I like the design of the Beck - but I understand that (perhaps 'objectively') it was a disappointment to many. I hope the design of the new building bridges the spaces around it well - specifically, the Law building, the Beck building, the Methodist church, the Presbyterian church, and the sculpture garden.

Perhaps I'm too optimistic... That's a lot to ask...

Edited May 28, 2011 by Simbha

[shasta]

Not sure if this thread has been created yet but they've narrowed the designer of the new building down to three architects.

http://swamplot.com/the-three-finalists-chosen-to-design-the-mfahs-next-building/2011-05-31/

[Simbha]

There's an existing thread here: http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/24952-new-mfah-buliding

I don't think that Swamplot posting is on there, though.

[Subdude]

There's an existing thread here: http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/24952-new-mfah-buliding

I don't think that Swamplot posting is on there, though.

Note duplicate topics merged.

[shasta]

http://www.chron.com...ign-2972381.php

[Jax]

Groovy, I can't wait to see a rendering.

[shasta]

Groovy, I can't wait to see a rendering.

According to the article, the timeline is 5-7 years and they (MFAH) aren't exactly sure what they want the museum to be so we may be waiting for a little while.

[Simbha]

In the absence of renderings, here are some shots of contemporary art museums which Holl's firm has designed around the world.

I've also provided square footage for each building. The plot for the new building is around the same size as that for the Beck Building, which has roughly 190,000 square feet of floor space.

All the images I've posted below are from the website of Steven Holl Architects. I've chosen one exterior view and one interior view in each case. More images of each can be found on the website itself (here).

Herning Museum of Contemporary Art, Herning Denmark

Size: 56,000 sqft

Status: Completed

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Addition and Restoration), Kansas City, MO

Size: 165,000 sqft

Status: Completed

Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland

Size: 130,000 sqft

Status: Completed

While not a museum of contemporary art, the Museum of Natural History in LA is in its design phase and may offer clues regarding elements which may find their way into the MFAH expansion:

Museum of Natural History of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA

Size: 80,000 sqft

Status: Design

Edited February 3, 2012 by Simbha

[lockmat]

So we can expect a cold feeling.

[Pleak]

Well, it is for the modern collection. So we shouldn't expect it to be too classical looking.

[Montrose1100]

The exterior renderings are very nice, but notice how the ”european attic ceiling” shows up in all of the designs.

[largeTEXAS]

The scope of this project is pretty huge. In general, this building is supposed to link the entire "campus" together, add parking, add exhibition space, add a library, add community features, "bring Hermann Park to the Sculpture Garden," etc.

High expectations, as there should be. I just hope we can get some awesome green walls! Well, and a cool, functional building. And, better sidewalks, and good dining options...

[Subdude]

Pretty uninspiring stuff, especially the one in Kansas City that just looks cheap and tacked on. Still, I'm glad MFAH didn't go the 'starchitect' route. I always thought the Beck addition was an awful design that they signed off on to get the name.

[Texasota]

Eh, Stephen Holl is pretty much a starchitect, and his work is not uninspiring. It doesn't photograph fantastically, but there's a subtlety and attention to natural light that makes for amazing spaces in person. My experience with his buildings is limited to his expansion of the architecture building at the University of Minnesota, but coming from that space down to Johnson's excremental postmodern abortion of a Ledoux scribble was quite a change.

Here's a terrible exterior shot:

My biggest concern has to do with the fact that this new building is supposed to unite MFAH's campus. The Rapson Hall addition integrates beautifully with the original Modernist building, but it's relationship to its greater context is more...questionable.

[Subdude]

My biggest concern has to do with the fact that this new building is supposed to unite MFAH's campus.

That is gong to be quite a challenge. There certainly wasn't any concern for unity with the older structures when the Beck building was designed. That said, the Brown Pavilion is brilliant and is in a totally different style from the original wing.

[Simbha]

My biggest concern has to do with the fact that this new building is supposed to unite MFAH's campus.

That is gong to be quite a challenge. There certainly wasn't any concern for unity with the older structures when the Beck building was designed. That said, the Brown Pavilion is brilliant and is in a totally different style from the original wing.

Is this what's meant by their 'unification' statement? I always interpreted it simply as providing physical (not visual/architectural) continuity between the Law and Beck buildings and the sculpture garden. Sure, architectural consistency might be optimal, but I don't see that as being a primary goal. (It's not as though my opinion matters, however.)

[Texasota]

Yeah, i don't think visual continuity is either intended nor desirable, but creating a meaningful spatial continuity across Main and Bissonet is plenty of challeng on its own.

[Subdude]

What does "meaningful spatial continuity" mean?

[Texasota]

Haha, it means I've been in grad school too long.

Basically- how do you make two city blocks separated by a street feel like a single continuous experience? How do you dissolve the boundary created by the street?

[Simbha]

Could someone explain to me the basic elements that an architect would be looking to achieve in this case? I recognize that architectural design is a creative endeavor, but are there some standards that would be followed in a case like this? I'm not talking about codes or regulations, but instead design standards that would be followed in order to achieve the effect that is sought.

I'd like to better understand how an architect would even think to create a design in this case.

For what it's worth: Of the above designs, I really like the exteriors of the Herning and Kiasma, but not the Nelson-Atkins addition or the LA Museum of Natural History. The Nelson-Atkins addition just seems like it's got too much contrast with the other building (I assume that's what's next-door). I don't care for that thing jutting out of the LA museum (and I recognize that it's still in the design phase). But, on the other hand, the Herning really seems to fit well in that space, and the Kiasma is a beautiful, modern looking building in an urban space.

[swtsig]

Pretty uninspiring stuff, especially the one in Kansas City that just looks cheap and tacked on. Still, I'm glad MFAH didn't go the 'starchitect' route. I always thought the Beck addition was an awful design that they signed off on to get the name.

i actually agree with your opinion that the KC one looks rather uninspired (at least it does in that photo) but according to the culturemap article that came out last week, that building is considered one of the most architecturally significant designs of the past decade. i guess that just goes to show how much we know

[strickn]

The (KC) Nelson-Atkins' corrugated siding stuff is called channel glass, and modernist architects like it because it wasn't around in the era of modernism so to them it looks un-unoriginal.