DALLAS, TX – March 22, 2023 – The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) today announced an outstanding response to its open call: Reimagining the Dallas Museum of Art International Design Competition.
One hundred and fifty-four submissions from architect-led teams were received by the competition organizers, Malcolm Reading Consultants (MRC). US-led teams, including Dallas-based teams, formed just over half of the submissions, with design teams from 26 other countries, including Mexico, France, UK, Italy, Japan and Germany supplying the balance. Competitors include top-tier practices, notably a number of Pritzker Prize and AIA Gold Medal winners, as well as emerging studios.
The team submissions were warmly welcomed by the Museum. The response ranks highly with those for recent open museum competitions in the US, Europe, and Australia.
The architectural reinvention of the DMA, the anchor of the Dallas Arts District, is keenly anticipated. As the competition Search Statement explains, the Museum needs greater physical visibility, to be transparent, show what is going on inside and be emotionally woven into the city’s fabric, as well as being welcoming and accessible to all.
A refreshed and expanded campus will enable the Museum to better serve the diverse city of Dallas. It will create additional gallery space to accommodate an expanding collection and strengthen the DMA’s work with its communities.
The DMA’s Eugene McDermott Director Dr. Agustín Arteaga said:
‘We are thrilled by the international design community’s response to our project.
‘The Dallas Museum of Art has a wonderful collection of art and an engaged, diverse audience – both deserve a transformative and inventive architectural proposition that renews the Museum.
‘This is an opportunity to crystallize the latest thinking on museum architecture to serve and inspire upcoming generations.’
Architect Selection Committee Co-Chairs, Jennifer Eagle and Lucilo Peña, said:
‘The competition was open to designers all over the world and their response is a great compliment to the Museum. We thank all the competitors for their interest.
‘The Architect Selection Committee will now study the submissions carefully; we are determined to make decisions that will honor the Museum, the City and the talent drawn to the project.’
Malcolm Reading, Competition Director, said:
‘This outstanding response shows how such an inspirational project can speak across cultures. The DMA’s competition website has attracted nearly ten thousand visitors from 114 countries.
‘Dallas’ profile as one of the most exciting US cities has been integral, as has the design challenge: to reflect and embrace change since the building was conceived in the late 1970s.’
The initiative envisages an addition/s that would add flexible galleries and will reaffirm the Museum campus’ connection to surrounding neighborhoods. The program also requires a reorganization of internal space, circulation, and entrances, as well as a comprehensive modernization framed within a thoughtful sustainability strategy.
US, international, local and regional teams were encouraged to enter the competition as well as collaborations between established and emerging talent. Stage one requirements included details of the proposed team; examples of relevant experience; and an initial approach to the project.
The DMA’s Architect Selection Committee (full details below) will meet in April to select up to five finalist teams who will go through to the competition’s second stage.
These teams will attend a site visit in Dallas and receive a detailed briefing in May; they will also take part in a public conversation at the Museum.
The finalists will have nine weeks to create a concept design before the Architect Selection Committee meets again to interview them and select a winner. All teams will be required to include an architect registered in the State of Texas as part of their team at Stage two.
A public exhibition of the shortlisted schemes will be held at the Museum in July, alongside an online exhibition, with opportunities for communities to give feedback.
The competition will conclude with the announcement of the winner in August 2023.
To follow the competition, please visit the website at: competitions.malcolmreading.com/dallasmuseumofart
Notes to Editors
About the Dallas Museum of Art
Established in 1903, the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is among the 10 largest art museums in the United States. With a free general admission policy and community outreach efforts, the DMA is distinguished by its commitment to research, innovation and public engagement. At the heart of the Museum and its programs is its global collection, which encompasses 26,500 works and spans 5,000 years of history, representing a full range of world cultures. Located in the nation’s largest arts district, the Museum acts as a catalyst for community creativity, engaging people of all ages and backgrounds with a diverse spectrum of programming, from exhibitions and lectures to concerts, literary events and dramatic performances. The DMA is an Open Access institution, allowing all works believed to be in the public domain to be freely available for downloading, sharing, repurposing and remixing without restriction.
For more information, visit dma.org.
The Dallas Museum of Art is supported, in part, by the generosity of DMA Members and donors, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the citizens of Dallas through the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture.
About the DMA’s Architect Selection Committee
- Jennifer Eagle, Architect Selection Committee Co-Chair
- Lucilo Peña, Architect Selection Committee Co-Chair; Former Trustee; President of Development, Billingsley Company
- Agustín Arteaga, The Eugene McDermott Director, Dallas Museum of Art
- Zaida Basora, FAIA; Executive Director, The American Institute of Architects – Dallas
- Mary McDermott Cook, Trustee
- Jeff Ellerman, Chairman of the Board of the Trustees; Vice Chairman CBRE
- Marguerite Steed Hoffman, Former Trustee
- Darren L. James, FAIA; NOMA; President, KAI Enterprises
- Howard Rachofsky, Former Trustee
- Catherine Marcus Rose, Trustee and Former President of the Board of Trustees
- Deedie Rose, Trustee
- Jennifer Scripps, President and CEO Downtown Dallas, Inc.
- Gowri Sharma, President of the Board of Trustees
- Gayle Stoffel, Trustee
About Malcolm Reading Consultants
Malcolm Reading Consultants (MRC) is a strategic consultancy that helps clients to imagine and define contemporary environments, both built and natural. MRC is the leading specialist in devising and managing design competitions internationally. MRC believes in the power of design to create new perceptions and act as an inspiration.
MRC has run over 200 design competitions in settings including Antarctica and Australia; London and Washington, D.C.; Oxford and Cambridge; and Houston and Riyadh, for extraordinary and emblematic projects representing over $20 billion of construction value. Uniquely, our team provides a total service encompassing the project vision; search; organization; administration; and assessment.
Recent work includes competitive selection for the National Gallery (London); Illuminated River Foundation (London); Science Island (Lithuania); Houston Endowment (USA); New College (Oxford); Butrint National Park (Albania); and the Royal College of Art (London).
