Art Museum landscape redesign

The Blanton Museum of Art’s grounds have been redesigned by Snøhetta, with lush landscape and public shade sculptures added to the Moody Patio, creating, “a bold new presence that reflects its artistic direction.”

Located in Austin at the University of Texas, the museum covers 200,000 square-feet across two buildings, and includes Ellsworth Kelly’s stone building and art installation, Austin.

The bold new Snøhetta-designed grounds at the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas. Image credit - Blanton Museum of Art.

A series of new gardens and entry points will knit the grounds together with the campus and streetscape, creating, “a new cultural nexus where Austin’s civic centre meets the University of Texas campus.”

The pathway winding through Moody Patio is bordered by raised beds with 25,000 plants, the majority of which are native species such as dwarf palmetto, Cherokee sedge and Texas gold Columbine.

A grass lawn stretches in front of the pavilion, and two raised platforms are to be used as stages, so that, “the new grounds initiative will unify and revitalise the museum campus.”

The lush landscape and public shade sculptures create “a bold new presence that reflects its artistic direction.” Image credit - Blanton Museum of Art.

Visitors approaching from Congress Avenue will now arrive at the courtyard under a canopy of 15 columns that blossom into petal sculptures, framing Kelly’s Austin. They rise above the trees and plantings of the central Moody Patio gathering space, offering a shaded microclimate with dappled light that follows the sun.

Their curved outlines help highlight views of the Texas State Capitol, and are inspired by the arched vaults of the loggia outlining the museum. At 40 feet tall and spanning 30 feet in diameter, the petals made from perforated panels form a new front porch for Austin.

At night, lights will illuminate the canopy. “The petals,” say Snøhetta, “complement the museum and the Kelly Chapel through a layering of geometry, landscape and light.”

A site-specific mural by Cuban-American abstract painter Carmen Herrera has been commissioned to span the length of the Michener Gallery Building, with the museum’s entrance in the middle. It’s the artist’s first major public mural, and will sit on the interior wall under the building’s loggia.

The curved outlines help highlight views of the Texas State Capitol. Image credit - Blanton Museum of Art.

The design, “unifies the museum campus with the city’s prominent avenue through a choreography of planting, geometry and art,” say Snøhetta. These new grounds, “[reimagine] the Blanton’s identity while celebrating the city’s art and culture.”

Construction is scheduled to finish in late 2022, with the museum to remain open throughout.