Share this on

Buried Treasure

edited by Craig Kellogg -- Interior Design, 2/1/2007 12:00:00 AM

"A perfectly intact temple on the hill," is Steven Holl Architects senior partner Chris McVoy's description of the neoclassical Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri. The firm started work there in 1999, and phase one—a parking garage topped by Walter de Maria's reflecting pool—debuted four years ago.

Now, as part of the $200 million renovation and expansion budget, the Holl team has burnished the 1933 museum while nearing completion on a 165,000-square-foot addition, much of it concealed under a lawn that's actually a green roof. "The extension became as much landscaping as building," McVoy continues. Clues to what lies beneath, five volumes enclosed in sand blasted channel glass spring through the grass, grabbing daylight for contemporary and African art galleries. Strategically placed windows allow views of the surrounding sculpture garden. Opening June 9; 816-751-1278; nelson-atkins.org.