The winner of the 2008 AIA Institute Honor Award along with a slew of other awards and recognitions (even one from Vanity Fair), the Bloch Building has helped put Steven Holl on the map as well as the Kansas City cultural scene. Designed to create contrast, the project was envisioned as a “Feather to the Stone” of the original museum. Light, airy, open and outwardly directed, the extension consists of a series of five “light lenses” that feature open floor plans, views of the surrounding sculpture gardens, and light-filled spaces. The light lenses are made of translucent glass and serve to gather, diffuse and refract light into the museum during the day, providing a naturally daylit interior. At night, the interior lighting shines out of the lenses to illuminate the museum like a glowing beacon.
Additional green design strategies include the extension of the sculpture garden onto the roof to create a green roof for improved insulation and stormwater infiltration, as well as a structural concept created by Holl called the “Breathing Ts”, which serve as ducts for light as well as ventilation. During the winter, air is warmed and directed into rooms, and during the summer hot air is exhausted out. A computer precisely controls the interior climate for individual exhibits, and a translucent insulating material embedded in the glass cavities of the Ts helps control the light. The building itself is a work of art that matches the caliber of the exhibits held inside.
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Steven Holl’s Bloch Building was completed over three years ago, but even now the beautiful extension to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City continues to garner significant acclaim. The luminous energy-efficient modern art museum boasts a and
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The Bloch Building was originally completed in 2007 and serves as the modern extension to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
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The light-filled building soaks up light during the day and releases it at night as a shining series of blocks in the landscape.
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Located in Kansas City, the art museum extension has served to draw attention to the arts and culture of the plains state. Its design has generated significant praise for Steven Holl and his team.
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Conceived as the opposite of the original museum, the extension is the “Feather” to the original museum’s “Stone”.
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The building is light, airy, and open with an outward-facing view of the exterior sculpture gardens.
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“Light lenses” on the exterior of the buildings gather, refract and diffuse light toward the interior, illuminating the exhibitions with natural daylight.
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The interior space is conceived as its own work of art but serves as a backdrop for the other works.
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The open floor plan allows for flexibility in hosting exhibitions.
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The ceilings and walkways are constructed of pre-cast concrete waves.
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Meanwhile, “Breathing Ts” act as light wells and ventilation channels to help the building achieve higher energy efficiency.
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Computers precisely control the climate for each area and exhibit.
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Windows look out to the exterior courtyards and sculpture garden.
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The light lenses are the building’s main design feature, gathering light for the interior during the day and releasing it back out at night.
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The Bloch Building has won a number of awards in the last few years, including the 2008 AIA HONOR AWARD, USA, 2008; AIA CENTRAL STATES ARCHITECTURE AWARD, USA, 2007; LEAF NEW BUILT AWARD, United Kingdom, 2007; AIA NEW YORK CHAPTER ARCHITECTURE HONOR OF
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The “stone”, which is the original museum, is contrasted with the “feather”, the new extension. Whereas the stone is heavy, directed and bounded, the feather is light, airy, free and open.
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