Concept designs for major Nelson-Atkins Museum expansion to be displayed this spring

The six concept designs for a new $170 million extension of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas  City will be displayed to the public as part of a special 11-week exhibition beginning online and in-person on March 15th.

Each of the six teams—led by Kengo Kuma and Associates (Tokyo), Renzo Piano Building Workshop (Genoa), Selldorf Architects (New York), Studio Gang (Chicago), Weiss/Manfredi (New York), and WHY Architecture (Los Angeles)—will display ideas for the roughly 61,000-square-foot addition that will result in an "even more dynamic" institutional program and integrated campus.

Evelyn Craft Belger, Chair of the museum’s Board of Trustees and the Architect Selection Committee, said: "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."

The competition was launched in October and drew 182 entries from 30 countries. The six finalist concepts will be displayed until June 1, 2025. They are as follows:

Kengo Kuma & Associates with GGN (Landscape Architecture)

Description: "Drawing from the Midwest’s prairies, riverbeds, and limestone bluffs, River / Stone weaves art, people, and landscape into a living cultural tapestry. Fluid pathways unite the 1933 Nelson-Atkins Building, the Bloch Building, and a new expansion grounded by local materials and human-scaled gestures. Porches, covered passages, and terraces dissolve the form, encouraging spontaneous encounters and linking the museum with surrounding neighborhoods.

Locally sourced stone, sustainable timber, and expansive glass echo the land’s quiet rhythm, fostering warmth and transparency. Underscoring Kansas City’s geological heritage and communal spirit, River / Stone broadens accessibility for families, first-time visitors, and longtime patrons alike. Gently sloping routes and terraced landscapes reflect regional history, creating places for reflection, conversation, and cultural exchange. Through this harmonious approach, the new addition transforms the museum’s campus – building on its longstanding commitment to engagement, wonder, and inclusivity – where nature, architecture, and community flow seamlessly as a true 'Museum for All.'"

Renzo Piano Building Workshop with West 8 (Landscape Architecture) and Arup (Sustainability, Structural/MEP/Lighting Engineering)

Description: "Our proposal for the expansion of the Nelson-Atkins Museum seeks to reconcile past and present, forging a museum for all. The original Beaux-Arts building, with its classical symmetry and civic grandeur, now stands in quiet dialogue with Steven Holl’s luminous addition to the east. Our design tries to restore equilibrium – balancing the old with the new – through a pair of precise interventions to the north and south. The sweeping, monumental stairs, long a symbol of art’s inaccessibility, are transformed. In their place, an open threshold welcomes visitors of every background, dissolving the notion of art as a privilege reserved for the few. A transparent pavilion – light-filled and porous – erodes the boundary between institution and community, allowing the museum to breathe with the life of the city. Here, architecture becomes an act of invitation, transforming the Nelson-Atkins into a truly civic and accessible space, placed gently within the life of the city."

Selldorf Architects with Reed Hilderbrand (Landscape Architecture), Atelier Ten (Sustainability), Two Row Architect (Indigenous Consultant)

Descripton: "Bringing Art to People: The original Nelson-Atkins building re-establishing itself as the central figure with a newly glazed Portico façade that signals activity and a new generosity of scale and spirit. Truly a Museum for All. Our design seeks to strengthen the Nelson-Atkins Museum at all levels – to connect it more to its surroundings, to its landscape, to its history, to its visitors and wider public – bringing art to people. We wish to create a world-class inviting arrival experience where everyone feels welcome, where barriers to entry are dissolved literally and figuratively. 

Our new West Building is a partner to the Nelson-Atkins and Bloch Buildings, completing and complementing the ensemble with openness, transparency and flexibility. Comprised of a series of volumes, the new building confidently holds the western edge of the site with inviting hospitality and artmaking spaces. Framing and activating the redesigned North Court the new building will energize the entirety of the Nelson-Atkins campus."

Studio Gang with SCAPE (Landscape Architecture) and Atelier Ten (Sustainability)

Description: "Studio Gang’s design extends the edges of the Nelson-Atkins building with vibrant thresholds that merge the museum with the Sculpture Park and invite visitors into closer relationship with art and each other. Uniting inside and outside, the new architecture embodies the creative energy of connecting across differences. 

Wherever visitors arrive, they’re immediately greeted with lively activity, transparency, and amenities that encourage them to stay and discover more. Accessible, inviting entrances extend inside to become convenient internal connections. At the south, the Art Bluff wing hosts the museum’s new exhibition, education, and social spaces. Its topographic design negotiates the site’s slope and bridges the different levels of the existing museum, helping people of all abilities easily get where they want to go. At the north, landscape enhancements and a café enliven the plaza, and the museum’s original entrance is reopened as a fully accessible front door."

Weiss/Manfredi with SCAPE (Landscape Architecture) and Atelier Ten (Sustainability)

Description: "A Connected Tapestry: A nexus of culture and community, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is treasured for its innovative programs and internationally recognized collection. The crisp forms of the existing buildings offer an elegant counterpoint to the landscape, yet their opacity conceals the vibrancy of the museum and precludes an invitation to the broader community.

Our design’s organic geometries shape the new west addition, and, with the expanded South Terrace, recenters the Cultural Campus around the treasured Sculpture Park. The newly accessible north entry frames a natural ecological landscape, and the rooftop addition amplifies a central entry."

WHY Architecture with WILDING x WHY (Landscape Architecture) and Atelier Ten (Sustainability)

Description: "The Hug: A Museum That Embraces: Our expansion is more than an addition – it is an embrace. It wraps around three sides of the existing museum, creating new connections to the galleries, landscape, and city. This is not just about gaining space – it’s about unlocking the potential of what already exists, shaping a more welcoming, inclusive, and connected museum. A new entry pavilion ensures an intuitive, inclusive arrival while pathways link visitors to art, events, dining, and gardens. The new Sky Wing offers Kansas City’s most breathtaking cultural vantage point. The Photography Center, positioned at the intersection of The Nelson-Atkins building and Bloch addition, serves as a bridge between past and future, establishing photography as an anchor of the museum’s evolving curatorial vision. This museum can evolve, adapt, and grow with its audience. Every surface is a canvas, every space an opportunity, ensuring The Nelson-Atkins remains a place of discovery and wonder for generations."

The public is invited to comment at the exhibition or through the Nelson-Atkins' portal.