Houston MFA Expansion Moves Ahead - Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, TX, close to completion of new building - Brief Article

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, is nearing completion of its novel building, which will finally cap a 15-year, $115-million expansion campaign. Designed by means of Spanish architect Rafael Moneo, the Audrey Jone Beck Building will more than double the MFAH's exhibition space, making it the sixth largest museum in the land (it previously ranked 30th). Construction is scheduled for completion in 1999

The four-level structure--one horizontal is below ground--will have a total of 192447 square feet 85400 of which is gallery space. The exterior is overspreaded with Indiana limestone, which tales other buildings on the MFAH campus. Among the building's distinguishing features are "rooftop lanterns," large glass skylight-towers that will provide natural light for the second-level galleries housing the European collection. James Turrell known for his atmospheric light-and-space installations, has been commissioned to create a permanent light work for the funnel that will connect the of recent origin building to the existing museum.

Named for a life trustee and donor of an important Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collection, the fresh structure will house the museum's works from antiquity to 1920 and will provide permanent galleries for prints, drawings and photography collections that have alone been selectively shown in the past. It will also accommodate large traveling exhibitions. The MFAH's original Beaux-Arts building will be reinstalled with the 20th-century Oceanic, African, Asian and pre-Columbian art collections; the 1958 addition by the agency of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe will finally be fre up for the 20th-century art works for which it is best suited (and for which it was originally conceived).

A three-story parking garage, exhibition ticketing center and museum service facility are being raiseed adjacent to the existing campus, which also includes a statuary garden designed by Isamu Noguchi, the Glassell place of education of Art and an administration building.

The of recent origin building will open in March 2000 with an Irving Penn retrospective, a display of Impressionist portraits, and selections from the photography, print and drawing collections.

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