Nieto Sobejano Selected for DMA Expansion

The Madrid firm of Fuensanta Nieto and Enrique Sobejano won the “Reimagining the Dallas Museum of Art International Design Competition” over the five other finalists that were announced last month: David Chipperfield Architects, Diller Scofidio+Renfro, Johnston Marklee, Michael Maltzan Architecture, and Weiss/Manfredi. The competition, carried out by DMA with Malcolm Reading Consultants, launched in February of this year, soliciting 154 submissions before being narrowed down to the six finalists.

In a statement from the museum on the conclusion of the competition, Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos describes their winning concept design “as a reflection of the original building, transforming the relationship between art, landscape, and community into a balance of memory and innovation.” The main element in the winning design is a new “floating” art gallery on the roof of the Barnes building, whose north and south facades will be transformed into a canvas for LED-generated artworks. 

In a statement, the museum's architect selection committee said it embraced the design by Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos “because it provides potential solutions to address circulation, sustainability and gallery expansion while respecting the existing building.” Furthermore, the design “unifies the vertical circulation and references the interior street so visitors can easily orient themselves,” and the newly imagined north and south facades “reinstate visibility and identity” to the museum — the former overlooking the ten-year-old Klyde Warren Park and the latter facing the “underplayed” Ross Plaza. 

The competition was held to address DMA's need for more exhibition space, reorganize its internal spaces, circulation, and entrances, and provide upgrades to the existing building. Now that an architect has been selected, the museum is convening a new Master Facilities Plan Task Force that will move the project forward, working with Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos, museum trustees, and the Dallas Arts District community. The project will be paid for with a mix of public and private funds. No planned timeline for the project was announced.