DALLAS, TX.- The Dallas Museum of Art has announced that the team led by the award-winning Madrid-based practice Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos (NSA) has won the Reimagining the Dallas Museum of Art International Design Competition.

The decision by the Museum’s Architect Selection Committee (ASC) was ratified yesterday by the Dallas Museum of Art Board of Trustees, and this concludes the six-month international competition, which launched in February 2023 and attracted 154 submissions from around the world, resulting in a shortlist of renowned U.S. and international teams.

Known for their dynamic and innovative façades at the Contemporary Art Centre in Córdoba, and the Montblanc Haus in Hamburg, the Spanish design team of Fuensanta Nieto and Enrique Sobejano has previously received accolades including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, the Hannes Meyer Prize, the Alvar Aalto Medal, and the Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts from the Government of Spain.

Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos described their competition-winning proposal – which will be developed by the Museum in consultation with its stakeholders and communities – ‘as a reflection of the original building, transforming the relationship between art, landscape, and community into a balance of memory and innovation.’

While respecting Edward Larrabee Barnes’ original design intent in his 1984 building, the NSA proposal includes a new floating contemporary art gallery on the roof and rebalances the north and south façades, communicating the expression of art via an exterior LED-generated artwork mediated by a perforated surface. Transparent glazing at the north façade (Klyde Warren Park), and at the Harwood Street façades at ground level, gives passers-by views of visitors inside the Museum engaging with the art.

Throughout the competition process the Museum has been focused on its vision as originally set out in its 2021 Five Year Strategic Plan: better serving the diverse city of Dallas and being a dynamic connector where people of all cultures feel welcomed and embraced.

President of the DMA’s Board of Trustees, Gowri N. Sharma and Chairman of the Board, Jeffrey S. Ellerman said:

‘We warmly congratulate Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos. Their concept design mixes a poetic sensibility with a dynamic and sustainable design strategy that respects Larrabee’s original intentions, all the while preparing us to become a 21st-century museum.

‘It is the best time in our Museum’s history to transform our building to articulate the dynamic and diverse programming we provide. A transformation to the DMA campus will send a signal that we are inviting everyone near and far to join our vibrant art community.

‘We need a building that reflects our importance to the city and has the potential to introduce new ways to present and interact with art.’

Architect Selection Committee Co-Chairs, Jennifer Eagle and Lucilo Peña, said:

‘The new and reinvented DMA promises to be a confident exemplar of sustainability and urbanism but also to be a place that’s just fun to be in.

‘Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos is known in international design circles but is possibly a new name for the American public. Significantly, this will be the firm’s first building in the U.S..

‘The Committee found the winning team a delight to interact with during the competition workshops and visits – they listened carefully, questioned us, and continually reappraised their approach.

‘We are immensely grateful to the five runner-up design teams who performed at the highest level and produced such committed work. It was a rare privilege to get to know them during the competition process and we want to express our profound admiration for their work and the creativity they brought to the competition process.’

The DMA’s Eugene McDermott Director, Dr. Agustín Arteaga, said:




‘Bravo Nieto Sobejano! We are thrilled to welcome you and introduce you to our outstanding collection as well as our communities, Board of Trustees, and staff.
‘We were delighted to share our journey through the competition process with our communities and hugely thank them for their feedback and positivity. We will continue working with them and Nieto Sobejano to make this project happen, to serve Dallasites and newcomers, people of all cultures, ethnicities, and beliefs.

‘Dallas-Fort Worth is changing by the minute: the metroplex’s success is such that it will soon be the third largest in the country. At the heart of one of the most exciting cities in America, the DMA is moving closer to the day when we can unveil a reimagined building, a new identity and, potentially, the most significant collection of contemporary art of any encyclopedic museum.

‘We will be able to release our masterworks from storage and the Museum will shine out, fulfilling our mantra, art is at the center, and equity and community are at the core of all we do.’

Malcolm Reading, Competition Director, said:

‘Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos’ thoughtful and accomplished concept provides an inspired architectural masterplan for the Museum’s future, offering a solution that embraces Larrabee Barnes’ design principles yet creates a new identity and openness.
‘Their clarity of design intent in conserving the integrity of the existing building and landscape offers dividends in reducing environmental impacts and optimizing energy use.’

Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos is based in Madrid and Berlin and their major works include the Madinat al-Zahra Museum, the Moritzburg Museum in Halle and the forthcoming Cité du Théâtre, Paris.

Members of the ASC visited the studio of every one of the six finalists and traveled extensively to view as many of their built projects as possible.

The other five finalist teams were led by (in alphabetical order) David Chipperfield Architects (London, UK), Diller Scofidio + Renfro (New York, USA), Johnston Marklee (Los Angeles, USA), Michael Maltzan Architecture (Los Angeles, USA), and Weiss/ Manfredi (New York, USA). An honorarium of US$50,000 along with up to US$10,000 for expenses will now be paid to each of the six finalist teams for their design work.

Winning competition concept design

The winning concept design was embraced by the ASC because it provides potential solutions to address circulation, sustainability and gallery expansion while respecting the existing building. The committee was also attracted to the balance created by the proposed north and south façades.

NSA’s design moves include enhancing the interior street by bringing light in from above, improving accessibility by rationalizing the stepped ground floor ramp and gallery half levels, and making visual connections through the entire building north and south.

The design unifies the vertical circulation and references the interior street so visitors can easily orient themselves. Two new dynamic façades reinstate visibility and identity equally from the south at Ross Plaza (currently underplayed) and the north end at Woodall Rodgers.

The concept addresses the need for expanded gallery space by creating a dramatic floating square extension on the roof – reflecting Barnes’ square grid – a huge flexible space for displaying contemporary art. The extension also incorporates an events space and restaurant, with a roof terrace overlooking Klyde Warren Park.

Education and performance spaces are arranged along Harwood Street, with street- level glazing encouraging curiosity and opportunities for activation of the Flora and Fleischner courtyards.

A new covered loading dock with facilities for conservation and staff offices infill the underused area off North St Paul Street.

The principles of sustainability are addressed impactfully with the decision to retain much of the original building’s embodied carbon by limiting changes to the existing structure and fabric, further enhanced by an integrated approach to rainfall collection, bioclimatic design, and electricity generation through photovoltaics and geothermal energy.

The team set out to make their design ‘precise and beautiful’ reflecting the spatial hierarchy and grid arrangement developed by Barnes, embracing nature, and opening up the ground level to achieve transparency and engage with the street. They propose activating the Ross Avenue entrance with an informal outdoor amphitheater and moving the sculpture garden barrier wall to improve access into the garden.