Kansas City

While visiting family in Kansas City last week, Liz & I had a chance to re-visit the Nelson-Atkins Museum and check out the new Bloch Building: a radical - yet breathtakingly beautiful - piece of architecture. Sheathed in walls of glass, the Bloch Building somehow seamlessly integrates itself with the original building’s 1920s-era traditional monumentality (pictured) while still asserting a supremely modern and functional aesthetic.

The Bloch Building also houses the contemporary collection, which include works from some of our very favorite painters: Rothko, DeKooning, Kline, Diebenkorn, and four (4!) by Wayne Thiebaud. Lunch at the Rozzelle Court Restaurant in the “old” building was quite elegant as were the newly-renovated galleries. The whole place is first class all the way. And get this: admission is free (though we did make a donation).

The New York Times gave the Bloch Building a rave review upon its opening last June and another nice article and many great photographs of the complex was featured at arcspace. Even more photographs can be found at Steven Holl Architects.

I wish we could have seen the building at night, glowing against the sculpture garden; it really is a stunningly gorgeous campus.

--rgc