As a showcase to display the international collections of modern and contemporary art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the $153.7-million Nancy and Rich Kinder Building was designed to be a work of art itself.
Featuring 237,000 sq ft of exhibit space, the building is replete with architecturally significant elements, including a glowing, translucent facade made of 1,100 semicircular glass tubes and a scalloped roof consisting of 23 different structures to resemble the “billowing clouds of Texas.” Beneath the building, two underground pedestrian tunnels—featuring light installations and art exhibits—connect the Kinder Building to the five other buildings on the museum’s campus.