DALLAS, TX.- The Dallas Museum of Art today announced the shortlist for the Reimagining the Dallas Museum of Art International Design Competition. The first stage of the competition, which launched in February 2023, attracted an outstanding global response, garnering 154 team submissions from around the world. The high quality of the submissions led the DMA’s Architect Selection Committee (see Notes below) to increase the number of shortlisted teams from the originally envisaged five to six.

The finalists – in alphabetical order by team lead – are:

•David Chipperfield Architects (London, UK)
with HarrisonKornberg Architects (Local Architect); James Corner Field Operations (Landscape Architect); Pentagram (Exhibition Design); Thornton Tomasetti (Structural Engineer); Arup (Services and Lighting); and Atelier Ten (Sustainability)

•Diller Scofidio + Renfro (New York, USA)
with Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc. (Landscape Architect); Arup (MEP, Sustainability and Daylighting Engineer); LERA Consulting Structural Engineers (Structural Engineer); and New Affiliates (Exhibition Design)

•Johnston Marklee (Los Angeles, USA)
with Christ & Gantenbein (Museum Specialists); MOS Architects (Public Realm); Sam Jacob Studio (Exhibition Design); Hargreaves Jones (Landscape Architect); Buro Happold (MEP and Sustainability Engineer); and Walter P. Moore with Martinez Moore Engineers (Structural Engineer)

•Michael Maltzan Architecture (Los Angeles, USA)
with Studio Zewde (Landscape Architect); Guy Nordenson and Associates (Structural Design Engineer); Buro Happold (MEP Engineer); Atelier Ten (Sustainability); and JSA/MIXdesign (Exhibition Design and Accessibility)

•Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos (Madrid, Spain)
with Atelier Culbert (Exhibition Design); SWA Group (Landscape Architect); Arup (MEP, Lighting and Sustainability Engineer); Bollinger+Grohmann (Structural and Facade Engineer); and PGAL (Local Architect)

•Weiss/Manfredi (New York, USA)
with Hood Design Studio (Landscape Architect); WeShouldDoItAll (Exhibition Design); David Van Der Leer Design Decisions (Cultural Strategists); Thornton Tomasetti (Structural Engineer); Jaros, Baum & Bolles (MEP/FP Engineer); and Atelier Ten (Sustainability)

The teams’ challenge is to reimagine the Museum campus, give greater physical visibility and transparency, show visitors what is going on inside, and make the DMA more welcoming, and accessible to all.

The Museum’s project – which will be largely funded by private donations – focuses on strengthening the DMA’s work with its communities, creating stronger civic connections, transforming the welcome for visitors with new facilities, and expanding education and gallery space – all underpinned by a thorough modernization.

The DMA’s Eugene McDermott Director Dr. Agustín Arteaga said: ‘We are thrilled to announce our shortlist: an exhilarating mix of talent and design approach. The chosen teams feature luminaries but also smaller, less-known but gifted studios. Each is itself a fascinating collaboration, multi-faceted with diverse aspects and skills. Notably, a significant proportion are led by women. The teams now have nine weeks to work their magic. In July we will have six possible visions of how the DMA might be transformed. We will showcase these to our communities, supporters, and the wider public, welcoming their feedback. Who could not be excited about what lies ahead? Dallas-Fort Worth will soon be the third largest metropolitan area in the US and we are working hard to prepare the Museum to be up to the challenge. This moment marks a major step towards a new future for the DMA.’

Architect Selection Committee Co-Chairs, Jennifer Eagle and Lucilo Peña, said: ‘Selecting the shortlist was a demanding process and the Committee’s debate around the final studios was intense and full-hearted. Nonetheless, we achieved a unanimous decision on the DMA six. We found it a privilege to study these submissions – they brimmed with ideas and were a lens on current architectural culture and practice. We thank all the competitors for their interest; if you weren’t chosen, please be consoled, the quality of submissions was exceptional.’

Malcolm Reading, Competition Director, said: ‘The DMA’s project has inspired interest from all around the globe making the competition, in terms of take-up and quality, something of a phenomenon. The challenges facing the building and the Museum are emblematic of our times. The complex program, matched with the shortlist’s variety and talent, gives the Museum a rare opportunity: to renew one of Dallas’ most cherished institutions and give the broader museum community a case study in reuse.’

Future of the DMA: Meet the Architect Finalists Public Forum

The finalist teams will participate in a public forum at the Museum, Future of the DMA: Meet the Architect Finalists, moderated by Competition Director, Malcolm Reading on Saturday, May 13. The finalists will explore themes in museum architecture and urban design and give their studio’s perspective.

The Museum is focused on better serving the diverse city of Dallas and being a dynamic connector where people of all cultures feel welcomed and embraced. Stronger civic connections will reaffirm the DMA as the anchor of the Dallas Arts District and connect it to surrounding neighborhoods.

Additional flexible gallery space will accommodate a collection that is expanding exponentially. Currently, many masterworks remain in storage, unseen by the public due to lack of space.

The program also requires a reorganization of internal space, circulation, and entrances, as well as a comprehensive modernization framed within a thoughtful sustainability strategy.

The finalists were selected by the DMA’s Architect Selection Committee (full details below) who assessed the submissions using the stage one criteria published in the competition Search Statement. Submission materials included details of the proposed team; examples of relevant experience; and an initial approach to the project.

Opened in 1984, the original campus by Edward Larrabee Barnes was surrounded by empty lots and warehouses. Over the nearly four decades since its opening, the neighborhood around the DMA has grown and evolved, including the expansion of the Arts District, the addition of Klyde Warren Park to the north, and the construction of new residences, restaurants, and offices.

Barnes’ austere Modernist design in Indiana limestone forefronted elegance and calm dignity. Today, the DMA needs to re-present and enliven its spaces to relate to a more open and inclusive society with changing visitor expectations.

Competition Timeline

Finalist teams will attend a site visit and a detailed briefing in May during the nine-week period to create their concept designs, before the Architect Selection Committee meets again to interview them and select a winner.

A public exhibition of the shortlisted schemes will be held at the Museum in early July with opportunities for communities to give feedback. This will synchronize with an online exhibition hosted on the competition website.

An honorarium of US $50,000 will be paid to each shortlisted team for their design work along with up to US $10,000 expenses when the competition concludes with the announcement of the winner in August 2023.

The estimated project budget is circa US $150-175m and the Museum will look to public and private funding sources with a funding campaign to support the project.