The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, United States, has reached a critical moment in its expansion project, revealing six finalist designs that propose new ways to engage visitors, integrate the museum with its surroundings, and create an open and inviting cultural space. The shortlisted teams - Kengo Kuma & Associates, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Selldorf Architects, Studio Gang, Weiss/Manfredi, and WHY Architecture - bring a range of approaches, each responding to the museum's architectural legacy and evolving role within Kansas City.
The expansion, which will add approximately 61,000 square feet to the museum, comes at a time of growing attendance and increased demand for exhibition space and community programming. The goal is to create a more accessible and immersive experience while maintaining a dialogue with the existing Beaux-Arts structure and Steven Holl's Bloch Building. The project will also enhance the surrounding landscape, activating the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park and establishing stronger connections between the museum and the city.
Each of the six finalists offers a distinct vision for this transformation. Kengo Kuma & Associates' River / Stone takes cues from the Midwest's prairies and limestone bluffs, emphasizing natural materials, fluid pathways, and an architecture that dissolves into its landscape. Renzo Piano Building Workshop proposes a balance between old and new, replacing the museum's grand entry stairs with a transparent pavilion that emphasizes a sense of openness and civic engagement.
Selldorf Architects centers its design on an expanded West Building, introducing a glazed portico that strengthens the museum's presence and creates a more welcoming arrival. Meanwhile, Studio Gang's approach extends the museum's edges, integrating with the park and introducing new social and educational spaces that blur the boundary between inside and outside. Weiss/Manfredi envisions a sculptural west addition, reshaping the museum's transparency while embedding it more fully into the surrounding cultural and ecological fabric. WHY Architecture's The Hug concept wraps around the museum, creating new connections between existing spaces and introducing a Sky Wing that provides a view of the city.
The six proposals mark a significant step in the museum's competition process, which began in October 2024 and attracted 182 submissions from 30 countries. Over the coming months, the museum's Architect Selection Committee will evaluate the designs, with a final decision expected later in the year. The chosen team will work closely with the museum and its stakeholders to refine the project, shaping what will be the institution's most ambitious transformation in recent decades.
As Kansas City's cultural landscape continues to evolve, the Nelson-Atkins expansion reflects a broader conversation about the role of museums today and how they engage with the public, how they shape their environments, and how they redefine accessibility in both a physical and cultural sense. In other similar news, The New Museum in New York City, dedicated exclusively to contemporary art, has announced that its 60,000-square-foot expansion, designed by OMA in collaboration with Cooper Robertson, will open in fall 2025 with an exhibition exploring the very definition of humanity. In the autumn of 2024, the Kistefos Museum Foundation invited 28 architectural firms to participate in a prequalification process to design a new site-specific standalone gallery. Finally, The Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska, is set to reopen on September 10, 2024, following an extensive restoration and expansion led by Snøhetta.
