Competition
This was a two-stage international design competition comprising an open call for submissions — including team composition, relevant experience, company details, and an initial project reaction — followed by a design stage for a shortlist of six competitors.
Teams
The competition warmly welcomed local, Texas-based, US, international, emerging and established practices.
The DMA sought an integrated multidisciplinary design team (led by an architect) capable of providing the full range of professional input and services for the project, and including:
- Lead Design Architect
- Landscape Architect
- Exhibition Designer
- Engineering disciplines, including structural, services and sustainability
At the second stage of the competition, internationally-based teams were required to partner with a design practice registered to practice in the State of Texas; the competition encouraged creative collaboration.
For full details, please refer to the Search Statement.
Stage One
The first stage of the competition was an open call for submissions — a Request for Qualifications — including proposed team composition, relevant experience, company details, and an initial reaction to the project. No detailed design submission was expected at stage one.
A shortlist of six firms was announced in April 2023.
Stage Two
The finalists were invited to prepare concept designs for the transformed DMA. The teams received a detailed program and were invited to attend a site visit and briefing workshop, participating in a public forum enabling the Museum’s communities to learn more about the six finalists. A virtual design workshop was also held halfway through the design period.
The stage two submission requirements included presentation boards, a design portfolio, a technical proposal (including an area schedule and scaled drawings), a physical model, a video presentation, and a commercial proposal.
An exhibition of the finalist concept designs is on display at the Museum through Fall, 2023, and the schemes were also revealed in an online gallery, giving the community an opportunity to view the submissions and provide their feedback.
Competitors presented to the Museum’s Architect Selection Committee, who interviewed each team and recommended a winner to the Board of Trustees for final approval. An honorarium of US$50,000 along with up to US$10,000 for expenses will now be paid to each of the six finalist teams for their design work.
The Museum’s Board of Trustees met in August 2023 to ratify the ASC’s recommendation, concluding the six-month international competition process with the announcement of Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos as the winners.
The Architect Selection Committee:
- Jennifer Eagle, Architect Selection Committee Co-Chair
- Lucilo Peña, Architect Selection Committee Co-Chair; Trustee; President of Development, Billingsley Company
- Agustín Arteaga, The Eugene McDermott Director, Dallas Museum of Art
- Zaida Basora, FAIA; Executive Director, The American Institute of Architects – Dallas
- Mary McDermott Cook, Trustee
- Jeffrey S. Ellerman, Chairman of the Board of the Trustees; Vice Chairman CBRE
- Marguerite Steed Hoffman, Former Trustee
- Darren L. James, FAIA; NOMA; President, KAI Enterprises
- Howard Rachofsky, Trustee
- Catherine Marcus Rose, Trustee and Former President of the Board of Trustees
- Deedie Rose, Trustee
- Jennifer Scripps, President and CEO Downtown Dallas, Inc.
- Gowri N. Sharma, President of the Board of Trustees
- Gayle Stoffel, Trustee
Timeline
| Stage One Launch | Thursday, February 16 |
| Deadline for Questions | 10:00 CST (GMT‑6) Friday, March 3 |
| Stage One Deadline | 10:00 CDT (GMT‑5) Wednesday, March 15 |
| Stage Two Launch | Late April |
| Site Visit | Early May |
| Stage Two Deadline | Late June |
| Final Interviews | July |
| Winner Announcement | Thursday, August 3 |
All dates 2023.