The Reimagining the Dallas Museum of Art International Design Competition attracted 154 team submissions from around the world resulting in a shortlist of renowned U.S. and international teams. Audiences from more than 135 countries viewed the competition website.
The competition program (brief) focused on the Museum’s Five-Year Strategic Plan vision: better serving the diverse city of Dallas and being a dynamic connector where people of all cultures feel welcomed and embraced.
New gallery space was a priority to accommodate a collection that is expanding exponentially. Currently, masterworks remain in storage, unseen by the public due to lack of space. Three visionary philanthropic gifts from the Hoffman, Rachofsky and Rose families are expected to make the DMA’s contemporary collection the most significant of any encyclopaedic museum across the globe.
First opened in 1984, the original DMA campus by Edward Larrabee Barnes comprised an austere Modernist design in Indiana limestone that fore-fronted elegance and calm dignity.
Today, the DMA needs to re-present and enliven its spaces to relate to a more open and inclusive society with changing visitor expectations.
The winning team, led by Madrid-based Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos, had an inspired strategy: to respect the original building – be sustainable in keeping as much as they could – but also to transform it radically.
President of the DMA’s Board of Trustees, Gowri N. Sharma and Chairman of the Board, Jeffrey S. Ellerman said:
‘We need a building that reflects our importance to the city and has the potential to introduce new ways to present and interact with art.’
‘The winners’ concept design mixes a poetic sensibility with a dynamic and sustainable design strategy that respects Larrabee’s original intentions, all the while preparing us to become a 21st-century museum.
‘A transformation to the DMA campus will send a signal that we are inviting everyone near and far to join our vibrant art community.’
