Expansion at the Nelson-Atkins Museum

The expansion at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art has sparked discussion - and some controversy - as it starts to take shape along Rockhill Road.

Kansas City, Missouri – The expansion at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art has sparked discussion - and some controversy - as it starts to take shape along Rockhill Road. Critics say the Bloch building, part of a $200 million expansion and renovation of the museum, and designed by New York based architect Steven Holl, looks like an industrial metal building. They say the vertical glass planks and aluminum strips along the glass look like inexpensive corrugated metal siding. But, museum officials call it a work of art in itself...and say it's too soon to judge what they expect to be an important contribution to the architecture of our time. KCUR's Laura Spencer reports.

Links for more information:

Steven Holl?s early sketches

Kansas City Star articles on the Bloch building

Local discussion forum on the topic with photos of the construction site