Steven Holl has firmly established himself as a go-to-guy for new museum projects. He got his start with the iconic façade for the Storefront for Art and Architecture back in 1993, a collaboration with the artist Vito Acconci. While that was a small project that is but a sliver of space compared to his buildings today, its novel reorientation of both the gallery space and the public streetscape via an architectural gesture — a dynamic façade — has set the course for his oeuvre of over 20 museum projects over the past two decades.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. All images courtesy Steven Holl Architects.
Holl’s latest project is The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, which continues in Holl’s signature style with elegant and subtly light-drenched spaces, custom-fitted to a historic and complex site. Here, the New York-based architect picks up where he left off with the 1998 Cranbrook Institute of Science and 2007 Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, among other cultural institutions designed by his firm.
Situated on the Fayez S. Sarofim Campus, flanked by Mies van der Rohe and Rafael Moneo buildings and an Isamu Noguchi sculpture garden, Holl’s design rubs shoulders with the giants of his profession. The 14-acre campus redesign will include two buildings by Holl, the 164,000-square-foot Nancy and Rich Kinder Building, which will house galleries of 20th and 21st century art, and an 80,000-square-foot facility for the Glassell School of Art. Both structures are integrated into the landscape and the architectural narrative of the area, and underground parking allows for pedestrian-friendly zones and connections between buildings and gardens.
Here are the 5 classic Holl design moves that make us excited to see the new campus, which is set to open in 2019.
1. Integration of experience
The vision for the campus plan integrates public and private, old and new, interior and exterior, gardens and buildings in three dimensions. A horizontal landscape extension unites the old and new buildings. In the center is the new museum building and its gardens, which allow views out from all sides. The Noguchi gardens are integrated into the new school of art by a sloped green roof that acts as a sitting area for events and presentations. Parking is located below ground to reorient the campus for pedestrians and seamlessly integrate everything. The street edges of the museum building are open and accommodating for urban passersby.
2. Visual and programmatic porosity
Seven gardens cut through the museum building, creating views and entrances, including the main entrance in the largest garden. The connections between buildings and outdoor areas serve as performance spaces, and for the restaurant and cafe to remain open for extended hours. This new sense of openness will make the whole campus more lively than the sum of its parts.
3. Natural light
The intense Texas sun makes the architect’s job both challenging and rewarding. Holl has designed an open canopy covering the new building. These curved roofs allow a precise amount of natural light in, lighting the galleries from the top. The ceiling acts as light reflectors, catching the light and dispersing it differently in each gallery. Water and plants add to the natural experience of this filtered and reflected light, which flows through the architectural procession of the galleries.
4. Open circulation
The experience of moving through galleries can make or break a museum. Holl’s design aims to provide orientation and visual relief through the slices in the curved roof, which give each space a distinct characteristic. The flow between these spaces is accented by the openings to gardens, where tress block direct sunlight and cast organic shadows. The central gallery is voluminous and provides vertical circulation to the upper floors.
5. Respect for history
The buildings at MFAH are as impressive as the art collection. An original 1924 Neo-classical building contrasts sharply with the Mies-designed Law Building — a classic steel-and-glass minimal composition, whose transparency also complements the heavy, stone Moneo building across the street. The trademark Holl translucent glass will bring the different materials together in a softly textured, glowing mass that will light up the night with Mies’ building, but will have enough visual weight to hold up against the heavier stone. It creates an object that ties together the existing buildings, much like the circulation paths and views tie together the campus.