Houston, United States: October, 10, 2017 – Today the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston celebrated a construction milestone for the Glassell School of Art as construction reached full height. The event this morning was marked with a traditional topping out ceremony, including the nailing of an evergreen to the highest point of the building, as well as some barbeque for everyone on site.
SHA Senior Partner Chris McVoy recognized the construction workers: "this is a special topping out because the building's structure—made of planar, etched concrete 'stones'—is the facade and the form; the building's exterior and the public space it shapes are already here! As an educational building it tells us how it was made, important for an art school where all ages, from junior school kids to adults to emerging artists will learn the making of art."
The new Glassell School is the first phase in the museum’s long-term plans to expand its campus as an integral experience open to the community. The ‘L’ shaped building creates space for the Brown Foundation Plaza, which will extend the space of the Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden by Isamu Noguchi. The inclined plane of the roof shapes an amphitheater and a public path to a rooftop sculpture garden that will overlook the whole MFAH campus. The structure will house three gallery spaces, a Forum, informal learning spaces, a 75-seat auditorium, 31 flexible studios, and a café.
Visit here to watch the live construction video and to learn more about the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston's campus redevelopment.