BNIM Selected as Architect of Record in collaboration with Design Architect WEISS/MANFREDI for The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Expansion
KANSAS CITY, MO, May 13, 2026 — The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and WEISS/MANFREDI have selected BNIM to serve as Architect of Record for the museum’s transformative expansion and renovation project.
BNIM will support WEISS/MANFREDI’s vision for “A Connected Tapestry” design that unites architecture, landscape, and community. Their design will help create a place of inspiration, discovery, learning, and connection, providing new opportunities for art experiences and community engagement.
“We are excited to have BNIM join our team to collaborate with WEISS/MANFREDI in delivering the design vision for our future campus expansion and transformation,” said Julián Zugazagoitia, Director & CEO of the Nelson-Atkins. “BNIM has been a dedicated collaborator serving the museum over the past 25 years. We look forward to collaborating with BNIM’s next generation of design leaders and employee-owners to advance our shared vision of building belonging for all.”
“The new expansion at the Nelson-Atkins will be a transformational milestone for the museum and for our Kansas City community,” Don Hall Jr., Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors and former CEO at Hallmark and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art shared. “It is with great excitement we are announcing that BNIM, a firm who has done so much to shape the civic and cultural architecture of our city, will be collaborating with WEISS/MANFREDI in creating a museum expansion that will make the Nelson even more welcoming, accessible, and inspiring to everyone in Kansas City for generations to come.”
BNIM is an interdisciplinary design practice, based in Kansas City, MO, that is recognized for its local and national leadership in designing high-performance and human-purposed environments. In the firm’s 56-year history in Kansas City, BNIM has served as a longstanding design partner in helping shape some of the city’s most important civic and cultural spaces, including The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Todd Bolender Center for Dance and Creativity, Folly Theater, Union Station, and, most recently, the new Roy Blunt Luminary Park.
As an employee-owned design company, the firm’s approach to practice and collaboration is guided by the idea that “no one knows as much as everyone.” This is emphasized through BNIM’s work in bringing communities, clients, and integrated design teams together to solve complex challenges through shared knowledge, talents, and innovation.
The firm provides a deep portfolio of architectural partnerships, which includes 80 projects over nearly six decades that have advanced strong design visions and transformational civic and arts experiences, like that of the new expansion at the Nelson-Atkins. BNIM has worked in collaboration with the museum over two decades on projects encompassing gallery renovations, learning spaces, historic preservation and repairs, and high-performance planning. BNIM also served as Architect of Record in collaboration with Steven Holl Architects on the Bloch Building, which opened in 2007.
“We are delighted that we will be working with BNIM on The Nelson-Atkins Museum renovation and expansion on what will be a truly transformational project,” said Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi. “We have long admired the quality of their projects, their professionalism and their commitment to the Kansas City community. We look forward to collectively creating immersive and creative experiences that welcome the community and inspire the broadest of constituencies.”
WEISS/MANFREDI was selected as Design Architect for the museum’s future expansion and campus transformation following an international competition in spring 2024, which garnered nearly 200 entries from architects in 30 countries. Beginning in January 2026, WEISS/MANFREDI and the Nelson-Atkins embarked on the selection process for an Architect of Record to collaborate on bringing their vision for the museum to life, ultimately selecting BNIM from three local finalists to join the multidisciplinary design team for this transformative project.
“We are incredibly honored to help The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and WEISS/MANFREDI deliver an even more transparent and welcoming cultural campus,” said James Pfeiffer, Principal at BNIM. “The Nelson-Atkins’ vision of being a true center for community continues to grow through this effort, and we are excited to collaborate with the museum, design team, and broader community on the future expansion. By pairing continuity with fresh, proven ideas and perspectives, our team is energized by the opportunity to help shape a future that honors what matters most, while revealing new possibilities for the next generation — creating spaces that welcome, engage, and inspire.”
Rendering courtesy of WEISS/MANFREDI
ABOUT THE NELSON-ATKINS MUSEUM OF ART
The Nelson-Atkins in Kansas City is recognized nationally and internationally as one of America’s finest art museums. The museum opens its doors free of charge to people of all backgrounds.
The Nelson-Atkins serves the community by providing access to its renowned collection of more than 45,000 art objects and is best known for its Asian art, European and American paintings, photography, modern sculpture, and Native American and Egyptian galleries. Housing a major art research library and the Ford Learning Center, the museum is a key educational resource for the region.
The Nelson-Atkins is located at 45th and Oak Street in Kansas City, MO. Hours are 10 am–5 pm Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 10 am–9 pm Thursday and Friday, closed Tuesday and Wednesday. For museum information, phone 816.751.1ART (1278) or visit nelson-atkins.org.
For media interested in receiving further information, please contact brand&content@nelson-atkins.org
ABOUT WEISS/MANFREDI
WEISS/MANFREDI is a New York City-based multidisciplinary practice known for the dynamic integration of architecture, art, infrastructure, and landscape. Founded by Marion Weiss and Michael A. Manfredi, notable projects include Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park, the Women’s Memorial at Arlington Cemetery, Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Visitor Center, and the reimagining of Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania. Current work includes the US Embassy in New Delhi, India, La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, and revitalizing the western side of Lincoln Center of the Performing Arts in New York City. The firm has been recognized with the 2024 Louis I. Kahn Award, the 2020 Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal, the Architectural League’s Emerging Voices award, and the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Architecture.
For more information on WEISS/MANFREDI, please contact Lindsay Reichart, lreichart@weissmanfredi.com or Rachel Judlowe, Rachel@judlowe.com
ABOUT BNIM
BNIM is an employee-owned design company and innovative leader in designing high-performance, human-purposed environments. The services we provide—architecture, interior design, landscape design, sustainability leadership and consulting, graphic design, and planning—are guided by our core purpose: We design and deliver beautiful, integrated environments to inspire change and enhance the human condition. BNIM has been recognized with more than 600 awards for exceptional design and thought leadership, including the 2011 AIA National Architecture Firm Award. Through a process of integrated design, BNIM creates designs that are both environmentally responsible and achieve the highest level of design excellence.
For more information on BNIM, please contact BNIM Director of Brand Identity, Beena Ramaswami, bramaswami@bnim.com