Located in the outlying suburbs of Kansas City, the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art is a museum that provides an important center for the interchange between art, culture and education. The design aim of this project was to create a space that would facilitate the mission of the museum. As well as a home for an outstanding collection of art, it is the integration of art with the host institution and the daily life of the students, faculty and visitors. The museum is connected to a technology center by a two story atrium, allowing for public passage through the campus, and its art laden spaces. In addition to the core program, the museum, conceived as part of a larger complex, provides amenities for the entire campus. Galleries are provided for both the permanent collections and for temporary and changing exhibitions. The exhibition spaces are connected by dramatic monumental stairways bathed in natural light, which highlight the ascension to serene upper level galleries. The gallery spaces are clearly identified as a stone volume, cantilevered from the core of the museum, the beginning of the art journey, a large frameless glazed lobby wall.

The museum program combines educational program, café, gift shop and information desk in the main lobby hall to form the structure for the museum’s social interaction. Each of these programmatic elements is contained in a discreet yet integrated building component. The form of the museum is organized in contrast with the existing context, marking its presence in the campus and the adjoining landscape. The museum space is linked to the exterior with expansive glazing at the ground floor lobby and strategically placed windows at the upper level, which connect to the distant landscape and provide dramatic views.