The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art International Design Competition , Kansas City/ Vereinigte Staaten

Press release by Malcolm Reading Consultants, London | April 24, 2025

WEISS/MANFREDI Selected to Design Nelson-Atkins Expansion

Firm’s Design Integrates Environment with Community

Link to online competition gallery: competitions.malcolmreading.com/nelson-atkins/gallery

Kansas City, MO. April 24, 2025–The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art has unanimously selected WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism as the lead architect for the museum’s upcoming expansion and transformation project. Their guiding theme united the trilogy of architecture, landscape, and community as reciprocal elements that work together while maintaining the majestic south lawn view into the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park. WEISS/MANFREDI’s concept is aligned with the museum’s goals for a dynamic, open, and inviting design that will create more spaces to present all forms of art, as well as new opportunities for immersive and creative experiences for audiences of every age. The museum’s Architect Selection Committee made the recommendation of WEISS/MANFREDI, describing the project as the best to fulfill the museum’s aspirations, and the team as sensitive to Kansas City while being engaging, smart, creative, and curious. The choice was ratified by the Board of Trustees shortly thereafter. Having selected the lead architect, the museum will now begin the months-long process of turning the concept into more specific and detailed plans to meet the long-term needs and goals of the community.

“WEISS/MANFREDI’s concept absolutely blew us away as it captured the spirit of the museum while offering a bold vision for our future,” said Julián Zugazagoitia, Director & CEO of the Nelson-Atkins. “Central to our competition was the need to respect the Nelson-Atkins’ original, neoclassical building, as well as our beautiful Bloch building, while also bringing something new to our campus. This concept delivers all of that, and we look forward to working with Marion, Michael, and their team to collaborate on an expansion design that keeps our commitment to great experiences with art and forges a deep sense of belonging and connection within our community.”

The competition process was led by an Architect Selection Committee formed of current and former Trustees and Zugazagoitia. The members include: Evelyn Craft Belger, Board Chair and Chair of the Architect Selection Committee; Rick Green, Trustee and Immediate Past Board Chair; Valerie Chow, MD, Trustee; Paul DeBruce, Trustee; Linda Woodsmall-DeBruce, member of the Committee on Collections; Bill Gautreaux, Trustee; Don Hall, Jr., Trustee; Shirley Bush Helzberg, Chair Emerita; Neil Karbank, Board Secretary; Sandra Lawrence, Board Treasurer; Greg Maday, Trustee; Ramón Murguía, former Trustee; Mark O’Connell, Trustee; Kent Sunderland, Trustee; Julián Zugazagoitia, Director & CEO.

The six firms chosen as finalists in the competition were Kengo Kuma & Associates, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Selldorf Architects, Studio Gang, WEISS/MANFREDI, and WHY Architecture.

WEISS/MANFREDI’s design, which the firm refers to as a “connected tapestry”, re-establishes a front door for the museum on the north side, opens up the west side with an inviting events and learning lobby along Oak Street, and, through new gateways and paths, makes the northern and southern perimeters more welcoming to the community. The events lobby will open out to a “Commons” space and a new photography center, allowing intriguing glimpses of the original building and landscape.

The Selection Committee was impressed with the firm’s core understanding of the museum’s needs, listening to feedback carefully and responding with multiple solutions. They were convinced the firm could design a successful building that would be future-looking, beautiful in form, and engaging and inviting to the community. Public feedback reinforced the committee’s impression and was warm and positive toward WEISS/MANFREDI’s proposal. The ideas and concepts that were presented will continue to evolve and undergo modification in the months ahead.

“We are deeply honored to work with The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art on this transformative project,” said Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, Design Partners at WEISS / MANFREDI. “It is a rare and meaningful opportunity to reimagine the museum as a place where art, architecture and landscape converge to reveal a place of discovery and delight, and we look forward to collaborating with the museum and community to create a more transparent and welcoming cultural campus.”

The groundwork for this moment began some years ago. Strategic conversations that had been paused in 2019 reignited when, following the pandemic, the Nelson-Atkins was cited by The Art Newspaper as a top museum in post-pandemic attendance growth with a younger and more diverse audience. Given that success, the museum began working with Cooper Robertson, an international architecture and urban design firm, on evaluating future space needs. András Szántó, an adviser specializing in cultural strategy for museums, attended several Board retreats, during which the scope of expansion and an architecture competition were defined. In response to this work, the museum engaged Malcolm Reading Consultants to launch an architectural competition that specified a new addition of approximately 61,000 square feet, along with a partial renovation of the original Nelson-Atkins building, as well as activation and amplification of the outdoor campus – all framed within a thoughtful sustainability strategy.

The international competition announced in Spring 2024 resulted in nearly 200 entries from architects in 30 countries on six continents. Six finalists were chosen to present at the museum in late-2024 and invited to display their concepts—along with models and other images—in a free exhibition at the museum, with the public encouraged to offer comments.

“This process has been thorough and illuminating,” said Evelyn Craft Belger, Chair, Board of Trustees and Architect Selection Committee. “The committee was energized with the array of dynamic designs submitted, and I want to thank all of the participating architects, and especially our five other finalists, for their creative engagement with us throughout this process. Each and every one of the proposals were unique and demonstrated an array of style and solutions to the brief. It’s important to note that the initial ideas presented are just that: ideas. None of the projects would be built as seen in the models, but they demonstrated the creativity and approach these different architects might take, making it possible for us to make our decision. In the coming months, we look forward to working closely with WEISS/MANFREDI to refine their ideas and ensure alignment with our own goals and plans.”

The Board is grateful to the advisers who offered input throughout this process, including Richard Armstrong, Director Emeritus of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City, Barry Bergdoll, art history professor at Columbia University and a former Chief Curator at the Museum of Modern Art, Karen Christiansen, former Nelson-Atkins COO, consultant Arthur Cohen, András Szántó, and the museum’s Teen Council.

“The competition drew global attention with an astonishing 182 firms competing at the first stage, and a shortlist that embraced some of the most respected architects working in museum architecture today,” said Malcolm Reading, Competition Director. “We congratulate WEISS/MANFREDI on their thoughtful scheme presented with flair and brio. We also celebrate the efforts of all the finalists – they devised highly accomplished and creative concepts in response to a complex brief.”

It is anticipated that the expansion will be privately funded. Now that an architect has been chosen, design development will commence and will be closely monitored by museum and Board of Trustees leadership. Community involvement will be actively sought, in particular from the many students who visit the Nelson-Atkins for its wide range of programs and classes.

The museum will host a free, public celebration of the announcement 4-5 pm, Thursday, April 24 in Kirkwood Hall.

WEISS/MANFREDI is a New York City-based multidisciplinary practice known for the dynamic integration of architecture, art, infrastructure, and landscape. Founded by Marion Weiss and Michael A. Manfredi, notable projects include Seattle’s Olympic Sculpture Park, the Women’s Memorial at Arlington Cemetery, Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Visitor Center, and the reimagining of Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania. Current work includes the US Embassy in New Delhi, India, La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, and revitalizing the western side of Lincoln Center of the Performing Arts in New York City. The firm has been recognized with the 2024 Louis I. Kahn Award, the 2020 Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal, the Architectural League’s Emerging Voices award, and the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Architecture.




Press release by Malcolm Reading Consultants, London | March 13, 2025

THE NELSON-ATKINS MUSEUM OF ART REVEALS DESIGN COMPETITION FINALISTS’ CONCEPTS IN BUILDING BELONGING EXHIBITION

• Finalists’ concept designs go on display at the Nelson-Atkins and in online gallery
• Community and wider public invited to comment at the exhibition or directly via online form
• Exhibition showcases work by teams led by Kengo Kuma & Associates (Tokyo), Renzo Piano Building Workshop (Genoa), Selldorf Architects (New York), Studio Gang (Chicago), Weiss/ Manfredi Architecture (New York), and WHY Architecture (Los Angeles)

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art today revealed the six finalist teams’ concepts in the competition to transform the museum with a dynamic, open, and inviting design. The expansion project’s goal is to attract new audiences by creating vibrant spaces to host more art, and new immersive and interactive creative experiences for the community.

The concepts – devised by some of the most respected designers working in museum architecture today – are now available to view in an online gallery on the competition website at competitions.malcolmreading.com/nelson-atkins/gallery.

They can also be seen in a free exhibition at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Building Belonging: Designing the future of the Nelson-Atkins, that opens Mar 15 through June 1, 2025. The public is invited to comment at the exhibition or through the portal nelson-atkins.org/architectural-competition-comments.

For further details of opening hours and access, visit the event page.

The museum’s Architect Selection Committee (ASC) will meet in late Spring to interview the finalists and make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees. Following ratification and the winning team’s appointment, the chosen design will be refined in close partnership with the museum and its stakeholders, including local communities.

The museum’s Board of Trustees aims to broaden the conventions of the museum – which offers free general admission – so it continues evolving as a place where everyone feels they belong. The project will integrate the campus, the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park, and the two existing buildings into a cohesive new experience.

The first stage of the competition, which launched in October 2024, attracted 182 teams from 30 countries on six continents.

“These six concept designs articulate six unique visions of a new and even more dynamic Nelson-Atkins.” said Evelyn Craft Belger, Chair of the museum’s Board of Trustees and the Architect Selection Committee. “This is a thrilling moment for the museum and our community when we start to visualize an identity that will carry us through the coming decades.

“We encourage our community to visit the exhibition and share your thoughts – which proposal best realizes your aspirations?”

“We asked for bold, inspiring moves that also respected the existing museum campus and I’m so happy to say we’ve received them in these initial designs,’ said Julián Zugazagoitia, Director & CEO of the Nelson-Atkins, “Each is a fascinating response to a complex project brief, together they bring myriad perspectives. The teams have shone their beams of thought on our big questions: how do we synthesize our existing icons with a new proposition? How do we modernize and embrace the future but keep the best of our history? And, most of all, how do we create a museum that is transparent for all and instills a sense of belonging and well-being?”

In conjunction with this exhibition is the release of Director’s Highlights: Celebrating 90 Years of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, which captures the richness and variety of the museum’s collection told through the eyes of the curators and Zugazagoitia himself. It includes about 200 works of art organized by the decade in which they entered the museum. Engaging stories, images, and colorful anecdotes accompany each work, along with historic photos and plans. The publication is available for purchase online and in the museum store.

Project Background
One of America’s finest art museums, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art cares for a superlative collection of more than 42,000 art objects. It is best known for its extensive Asian art, European and American paintings, photography, modern sculpture, and Native American, African, and Egyptian galleries. It is surrounded by a 22-acre sculpture park.

Offering free admission, the museum based in Kansas City, Missouri, is nationally and internationally acclaimed and serves a broad region within a 300-mile radius.

The museum is embarking on this new project in response to the increasing needs of its community, growing and increasingly diverse attendance, the desire to exhibit more art and collections, and aspirations to serve future generations in transformative ways.

The competition is for a new addition (or ensemble of additions) of approximately 61,000 square feet, along with a part-renovation of the original Nelson-Atkins building, as well as activation and amplification of the outdoor campus – all framed within a thoughtful, sustainability strategy.

Highlights of the new addition(s) may include a primary entrance and welcome foyer, a comprehensive photography center, new featured exhibition galleries, learning and engagement spaces for hands-on art activities, a black box-style theater for digital art and immersive programming, and a restaurant for indoor/outdoor dining and events.

The estimated construction budget (funded entirely by private donations) is one part of a larger, more comprehensive campaign starting in 2025. The campaign is expected to be the single biggest investment in the arts in Kansas City in recent years, contributing to the city’s future dynamism and vitality. The museum receives no public tax dollars for operations or capital projects.

The competition process is being led by an Architect Selection Committee chaired by Evelyn Craft Belger, also Chair of the museum’s Board of Trustees. A full list of selection committee members follows.

For further information and future updates, including the winner announcement, please visit competitions.malcolmreading.com/nelson-atkins.