The Campaign for the Menil is a campaign for both Houston and the museum’s international following. Since the museum opened in 1987, it has always offered free admission to everyone and its world-renowned art collection has doubled in size. The number of visitors has also risen dramatically. A strategic acquisition of surrounding properties extended the Menil campus, and the addition of new buildings allows visitors to encounter art with the quiet, personal concentration that is the Menil’s hallmark. Based on the Menil’s Master Site Plan, commissioned from London-based architect David Chipperfield in 2009, the Menil will increase museum and operations space by 40% over time. An integral step in realizing this vision is the construction of the Menil Drawing Institute (MDI). The MDI, designed by Johnston Marklee, will be the only freestanding facility in America created expressly for the study and exhibition of modern and contemporary drawings. It will house the largest, fastest-growing part of the Menil’s collection, addressing the special needs of the drawing medium for storage, conservation, and exhibition while creating a new focal point on campus.
Already an active museum program, the Menil Drawing Institute is known for its exhibitions, publications, and research. The creation of a new campus building designed to exhibit, conserve, and study drawings will transform the understanding and appreciation of modern and contemporary works in this medium. The Campaign for the Menil was created to support the realization of this innovative vision and further the growth of the Menil within the context of local civic and international art communities.
Other projects are currently being undertaken in conjunction with the Master Site Plan are the construction of a new Energy House, also designed by Johnston Marklee, an efficient and environmentally sustainable central utilities plant for the campus; the design of a new entrance sequence to the Menil campus by Michael Van Valkenburgh and Associates; and the construction of the Menil’s first café, Bistro Menil, designed by Stern and Bucek Architects of Houston.
