Today we are very proud to launch a mini-series of the As Built podcast about the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art International Design Competition. This series features interviews with each of the six finalist firms as well as the leadership behind the competition:
It was important to us to develop this series for several reasons:
Lastly, it’s personal. The museum is an important part of our personal and professional lives. The Nelson-Atkins has been, and continues to be, a place of inspiration, connection, and, on difficult days, solace. We are extremely proud of the museum and invested in its growth.
We approached the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in November 2024 with the idea for this podcast. While this series was funded and produced by Graphicmachine, it was important for us to have the Nelson-Atkins' approval. To our great delight, they were enthusiastic about the idea and we are grateful for their cooperation.
The next step was securing the participation of the finalist firms. Malcolm Reading Consultants (MRC), the firm developing and overseeing the competition, was invaluable in facilitating that participation. With MRC, we developed a standard list of questions so that each firm would be asked exactly the same questions. Each firm was provided with the questions in advance of the interview. To keep things fair, we did not allow ourselves to ask any follow-up questions or diverge from the approved list of questions.
All episodes were recorded remotely in February 2025 and reviewed by MRC before release. Pursuant to the rules of the competition, the Nelson-Atkins did not review or even hear the episodes prior to their public release.
The interviews were edited for sound quality only, removing background noises, glitches, and long pauses. No other edits were made to the guests’ responses.
We produced transcripts that have been edited for clarity but not for length. We have included in these transcripts links to places, people and ideas that were mentioned by the guests so that no one feels like there’s something they don’t understand.
All episodes were released at the same time to avoid any appearance of favoritism. We have listed the episodes in alphabetical order by firm name, in keeping with the order in which the Nelson-Atkins lists the finalists.
We recommend listening to the episode with Julián Zugazagoitia, Director & CEO of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, first, because Julián provides important background information on the goals of the competition and the needs of the museum.
Next, we recommend listening to the episode with Malcolm Reading, Chair of Malcolm Reading Consultants, to learn how the competition is structured and what the selection committee will be looking for.
Beyond that, the episodes can be listened to in any order. Our intention was to make them available so they could be listened to before looking at the finalists’ exhibition work, while looking at the exhibition, and after viewing the exhibition. They will remain online indefinitely and our hope is that they will be used as a resource for understanding current work and what will become historical work. Following the completion of the expansion, our audio and video files will be donated to the Nelson-Atkins archive.
We would like to thank the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and especially Julián Zugazagoitia, for their belief in this project and for their cooperation. We would also like to thank Malcolm Reading and Malcolm Reading Consultants for their guidance and partnership, and for being so wonderful to work with. Lastly, we would like to thank our guest architects and their firms for the generous gift of their time. Despite participating in interviews in the midst of preparing their design submissions, every firm was incredibly gracious. Thank you for trusting us to tell your stories. It was a pleasure and a privilege.
