Blanton Museum of Art at UT Austin
Casey Dunn

Blanton Museum of Art Grounds Redesign

Snøhetta come Architetti

Snøhetta has created a comprehensive grounds redesign for The Blanton Museum of Art at The University of Texas at Austin. The initiative unified and revitalized the museum campus across approximately 200,000 square feet, including two buildings and Ellsworth Kelly’s Austin.

photo_credit Casey Dunn
Casey Dunn
photo_credit Casey Dunn
Casey Dunn

“The Blanton holds a prominent place at the intersection of the new Texas Capitol Complex, and it also serves as the gateway to the university campus. Our inventive landscape and reimagined building entrances fulfill that promise,” Craig Dykers said in the Blanton’s press release announcing the project. “Snøhetta’s design expands the museum’s world-class art collection beyond the museum’s galleries and creates a highly visible public place of–and for–the arts in Austin.”

photo_credit Casey Dunn
Casey Dunn

The design of Blanton’s new grounds and gardens was guided by an overall goal of creating a new, inclusive gathering space for Austin; one that unites the civic core of the city represented by the State Capital to the south and the historic fabric and character of the University to the north.

photo_credit Casey Dunn
Casey Dunn

With a climate future that will see more intense weather and drought, the project adapted the existing structures and landscapes for this change. Rising above the trees, a canopy of petal sculptures creates a shaded microclimate with dappled light that follows the sun. Standing 40 feet tall, each petal is made of perforated panels and spans 30 feet in diameter, equipped with drainage that moves water from the upper canopy through the column down to grade, allowing for infiltration and passive irrigation into the surrounding subgrade. The perforations of the petals, while smooth on the exterior, are raised on the inside moving water toward the drainage system. Their curving outlines, inspired by the arched vaults of the loggia that outline the museum, help highlight views of Ellsworth Kelly’s Austin and the Capitol.

photo_credit Casey Dunn
Casey Dunn
photo_credit Casey Dunn
Casey Dunn

Through a choreography of planting, geometry, and art, the landscape vision is defined by a series of new gardens and entry points that knit the grounds together. The plantings for the Blanton campus were carefully selected through a variety of environmental considerations, with an overall desire to establish feelings of comfort, welcome, and support.

photo_credit Casey Dunn
Casey Dunn
photo_credit Casey Dunn
Casey Dunn

Throughout the grounds, more than 25,000 new plants, made up of species proven to succeed on the campus, have been added, underpinning the design goals with pragmatism around maintenance and climatic suitability. Wherever possible, existing vegetation was maintained – especially the character defining oak trees growing along the margins of the grounds. Multi-stem crape myrtles step down the scale of the existing oaks, framing the entrance to the plaza. The Faulkner Garden sees the most expressive and dynamic vegetation with a wide range of sun and shade conditions and hydrologic character in its bounds. ​

photo_credit Casey Dunn
Casey Dunn
photo_credit Casey Dunn
Casey Dunn

​To mark the museum’s mission of highlighting underrepresented artists, the redesign includes a site-specific work by renowned Cuban-American abstract painter Carmen Herrera, her first major public mural. Sited on the interior wall under the Michener Gallery Building’s loggia, it will span the length of the building, with the museum’s entrance in the middle. Snøhetta's landscape design carefully plays upon the texture and colors of Carmen Herrera’s public mural, Verde, que te quiero verde with the lush plantings and topography in addition to a sound garden gallery for works of an auditory nature.

photo_credit Casey Dunn
Casey Dunn
photo_credit Casey Dunn
Casey Dunn

The Moody Patio encompasses two adjacent stages for performances and includes new landscaping, a lawn, and a variety of seating areas. The lawn will amplify the Blanton’s popular and innovative programming, creating a center for the community to come together around art and music.

photo_credit Casey Dunn
Casey Dunn
photo_credit Snøhetta
Snøhetta
photo_credit Snøhetta
Snøhetta
Products Behind Projects
Product Spotlight
News
Archello houses of the month - January 2025
6 feb 2025 Notizie
Le case Archello del mese - Gennaio 2025

Archello ha selezionato le sue case del mese per gennaio 2025. L'elenco presenta 20 tra le più... Altro

Polish Embassy in Berlin by JEMS Architekci is a “testament to architectural diplomacy”
6 feb 2025 Notizie
L'ambasciata polacca a Berlino di JEMS Architekci è una "testimonianza di diplomazia architettonica".

Un progetto che ha richiesto tredici anni di lavoro, la nuova ambasciata polacca a Berlino ha aperto... Altro

Ika.architekti builds fun and functional DIY sauna in Brno
3 feb 2025 Notizie
Ika.architekti costruisce una sauna fai da te divertente e funzionale a Brno

Lo studio ika.architekti di Brno ha costruito una sauna riciclata utilizzando una serie di vecchi ma... Altro

HGAA expands restaurant in Bãi Cháy with a building that embraces nature
29 gen 2025 Notizie
HGAA amplia il ristorante di Bãi Cháy con un edificio che abbraccia la natura

Lo studio di architettura vietnamita HGAA è stato inserito da Archello nella lista dei 25 mig... Altro

Mole Architects elevates “mundane” 1960s English bungalow with new extension
29 gen 2025 Notizie
Mole Architects eleva il "banale" bungalow inglese del 1960 con un nuovo ampliamento

Lo studio di architettura Mole Architects, con sede a Cambridge, ha completato l'ammodernamento e l'... Altro

New Samuel Paty School in Béziers plays with materiality
22 gen 2025 Notizie
La nuova scuola Samuel Paty di Béziers gioca con la materialità

Lo studio parigino O-S architectes (Vincent Baur, Guillaume Colboc e Gaël Le Nouëne) ha pr... Altro

Domino Square in Brooklyn plays key part in redevelopment of former historic sugar refinery
21 gen 2025 Notizie
Domino Square a Brooklyn gioca un ruolo chiave nella riqualificazione dell'ex storico zuccherificio

Studio Cadena, uno studio di design e architettura con sede a Brooklyn, ha recentemente completato D... Altro