San Antonio Texas

Opened in San Antonio as Texas’ first museum of modern art, the McNay has indulged visitors with the works of Monet, Picasso and Matisse, among others. In recent years, the McNay’s highly-regarded collection had superseded available exhibit space, leaving patrons with the desire and challenge of expansion. Aside from raising over 50 million dollars, one of the biggest challenges was to create an addition that would not detract from the original museum’s historic facade.

French architect Jean-Paul Viguier found a solution by incorporating the landscape’s natural contours. This allowed for the 45,000-square-foot addition that would later be known as the Jane and Arthur Stieren Center for Exhibitions. The beauty of Viguier’s design can also found in each architectural element: walls of green stone reminiscent of San Antonio’s deep green foliage, a theater paneled in wood derived from a single pear tree and aluminum accents inspired by logs floating down a river.

One striking theme throughout the new space is the use of natural light. Museums are often designed sans this feature to provide a controlled lighting environment. For natural light to be incorporated into a museum, it must be closely moderated. To do this, Viguier designed a revolutionary, multi-layered glass roof to filter light into the exhibit space. The result allows visitors to view works as they are “in the real world,” with a different illumination in the morning as opposed to the evening, or amid a rain shower verses a sunny day. The Jane and Arthur Stieren Center for Exhibitions also offers outdoor space to display the McNay’s extensive sculpture collections.

The integration of the Jane and Arthur Stieren Center for Exhibitions with the original McNay reflects the very infrastructure of San Antonio, where old and new blend seamlessly with architecture, art and a forever-flourishing culture.