Steven Holl Architects designed the Nancy and Rich Kinder Museum Building at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFAH) in Houston, Texas.

MFAH is characterized by porosity, opening the ground floor at all elevations.

The Kinder Building adds a horizontal architecture in translucent glass to the museum's collection of stone, 1924, steel and glass, 1958, 1974, and stone, 2000, buildings.

Concave curves, imagined from cloud circles, push down on the roof geometry, allowing natural light to slip in with precise measure and quality, perfect for top-lit galleries.

These curved slices of light shape the gallery spaces in a unique way related to the organic qualities of the lush vegetation and water that characterize the new campus.

The open flow through the galleries is punctuated by views into the seven gardens with green trellises offering shade from glare – a welcome treat to its visitors.

This project has been longlisted in the cultural building category of Dezeen Awards 2022.

Designer: Steven Holl Architects

Project: Nancy and Rich Kinder Museum Building, Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH)