In Houston, plans are being finalized for the first freestanding American building built to house and conserve modern and contemporary drawings.
The Menil Drawing Institute, named for Dominique de Menil, legendary arts patron and collector, is being designed by Johnston Marklee and Menil officials.
The $40 million, 30,150-sf building will be located between the Cy Twombly gallery and Richmond Hall, both distinctive art buildings in their own right.
The MDI will be built around three open courtyards, and two of these will be entry points into the single-story building. The third courtyard will be at the center of a restricted area meant for research.
On one side of the Institute, there will be exhibition galleries, while administrative offices and the conservation laboratory will be on the other end. In the center of the building, there will be a "living room" space where visitors, administrators, and scholars can mingle, according to CultureMap Houston.
Indoor and outdoor spaces will be unified by a thin, flat roof that will seem to be floating in the air when viewed from one side, and the roof will seem to be pierced by the trees in some places, according to the architects at Johnston Marklee.
The MDI will only be 16 feet tall because the architects did not want to block views of surrounding 1920s bungalows or the main art buildings.
Johnston Marklee is also designing a new Energy House for utilities that will be just south of the Cy Twombly gallery. There will be a park between the MDI and Energy House.
The 30-acre enclave will also include a new restaurant, Bistro Menil, designed by Stern and Bucek Architects, and landscaping by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc.
Construction is supposed to begin in 2015. A $110 million capital and endowment campaign is in progress.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Feb 9, 2023
New Giants 400 download: Get the complete at-a-glance 2022 Giants 400 rankings in Excel
See how your architecture, engineering, or construction firm stacks up against the nation's AEC Giants. For more than 45 years, the editors of Building Design+Construction have surveyed the largest AEC firms in the U.S./Canada to create the annual Giants 400 report. This year, a record 519 firms participated in the Giants 400 report. The final report includes 137 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Giants 400 | Feb 6, 2023
2022 Reconstruction Sector Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. building reconstruction and renovation sector
Gensler, Stantec, IPS, Alfa Tech, STO Building Group, and Turner Construction top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest reconstruction sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Feb 6, 2023
2022 Religious Sector Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. religious facility construction sector
HOK, Parkhill, KPFF, Shawmut Design and Construction, and Wiss, Janney, Elstner head BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest religious facility sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Steel Buildings | Feb 3, 2023
Top 10 structural steel building projects for 2023
A Mies van der Rohe-designed art and architecture school at Indiana University and Morphosis Architects' Orange County Museum of Art in Costa Mesa, Calif., are among 10 projects to win IDEAS² Awards from the American Institute of Steel Construction.
Giants 400 | Feb 1, 2023
2022 Cultural Facilities Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. cultural facilities sector
Populous, DLR Group, KPFF, Arup, and Turner Construction head BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest cultural facilities sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2022 Giants 400 Report. Building types include museums, public libraries, performing arts centers, and concert venues.
Libraries | Jan 13, 2023
One of the world’s largest new libraries opens in Shanghai
Designed by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects, Shanghai Library East covers more than 1.2 million sf, 80% of it dedicated to community activity.
Performing Arts Centers | Dec 23, 2022
Diller Scofidio + Renfro's renovation of Dallas theater to be ‘faithful reinterpretation’ of Frank Lloyd Wright design
Diller Scofidio + Renfro recently presented plans to restore the Kalita Humphreys Theater at the Dallas Theater Center (DTC) in Dallas. Originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, this theater is the only freestanding theater in Wright’s body of work.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Dec 15, 2022
Community centers reinforce a town or city’s sense of place
The intersection of a community with its natural surroundings is one key to a successful design of community centers, according to a new 24-page paper titled “Creating a Wellness Culture,” about the benefits of this building type, cowritten by HMC Architects’ Civic Practice Leader Kyle Peterson, and Director of Design James Krueger, who used three of their firm’s recent projects to buttress their thesis.
Museums | Oct 25, 2022
Seattle Aquarium’s new Ocean Pavilion emphasizes human connection to oceans
Seattle Aquarium’s new Ocean Pavilion, currently under construction, features several exhibits that examine the human connection with the Earth’s oceans.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2022
Top 90 Construction Management Firms for 2022
CBRE, Alfa Tech, Jacobs, and Hill International head the rankings of the nation's largest construction management (as agent) and program/project management firms for nonresidential and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.