In the spirit of the museum’s 25th anniversary, Director Josef Helfenstein has announced Los Angeles-based Johnston Marklee as the architects for the Menil Drawing Institute (MDI) – the Menil Collection’s first major expansion initiated under the ambitious master plan designed by David Chipperfield Architects. Once completed, MDI will be the first freestanding facility in America dedicated to modern and contemporary drawing, and one of the most advanced in the world. Johnston Marklee was selected over David Chipperfield Architects, SANAA and Tatiana Bilbao.
“Johnston Marklee has proposed an approach that sensitively and ingeniously addresses the challenges of accommodating the vital yet inherently delicate medium of drawing,” Josef Helfenstein stated, as reported by Your Houston News. “The firm understands on the deepest level the distinctive role that MDI will play as a focal point for the entire campus, giving us an approach that will serve this important collection and elevate the future experience of the Menil as a whole.”
