Fort Worth’s Kimbell Art Museum unveils schematic for expansion project

by Laura Seewoester

The Kimbell Art Museum unveiled plans Tuesday for the museum's expansion project, designed by Renzo Piano. The Kimbell is expanding its space because, well, it needs more of it. The museum currently does not have enough space to display both a major exhibition and their complete permanent collection. The museum also lacks space for educational purposes (and when I say “lacks space” I mean they have no space at all). The new building will almost double the museum's square footage, which will allow more gallery space and provide educational facilities.

The Location

The team considered many possibilities as far as where to put the new building. They have decided to put it on the green opposite the front of the Kimbell (not to be confused with the back of the Kimbell, which is where one usually enters the building after parking). While they considered placing the new facility on the East side of the building (where the above ground parking is at on Darnell Street), working around Arch Adams Street while keeping the buildings connected in some way presented difficulties. Also as Piano says, it's better to have the buildings “talking in a better way.” Piano has a vision of bringing the public back to the front of Louis I. Kahn's masterpiece with an underground garage that will ascend to the front of the Kimbell, in between the two buildings. The buildings will be connected by an underground “umbilical cord” (as Piano called it), however that will mostly be for employees and artwork. The public will go back and forth above ground, amongst the trees and the green that they will preserve throughout the process.

The Design

The building will be approximately 90,000 sq. ft., although with much of the building underground the facility will only take up about 50,000 sq. ft. of the green. One of Piano's concerns with the construction of the new building is its sustainability. Not only will part of the building be incorporated into the side of the earth (think earth home), but they are considering implementing the use of solar panels in their efforts to reduce energy use. The goal: to be “energy neutral.” (Don't worry, Piano assured us that the new building will not lack air conditioning like his last project, the California Academy of Sciences rebuilding in San Francisco.) Another concern is to preserve the integrity of Kahn's original building. To achieve this, Piano plans on subtly mirroring the proportions of the original building and using similar (yet “greener”) materials.

“This museum is living proof of humbleness,” Piano said of Kahn's work. “It's unpretentious, it's about scale.” Piano went on to say, “This is a masterpiece. The proportion of this building is perfect, you should not try to add, you should not try to change."

The building will house gallery space, classrooms and labs, a library, an auditorium and an underground parking garage.

Pricing and Timing

$70 million smackeroos. The money will come from the Kimbell Art Foundation, however the foundation insists that despite taking on such a large project they will still be aggressive with bringing in works of art. The museum expects to break ground on the project in 2010, with a grand opening in 2012.