Media Information

Dallas, TX (May 17, 2007) –Today, the Museum of Nature & Science, Dallas, announced that it has chosen four finalist architects to design its new facility in Victory Park – Morphosis of Santa Monica, Calif., Polshek Partnership of New York City, Shigeru Ban of Tokyo and Snøhetta of Oslo, Norway.

The Museum will be complementing its Fair Park facilities with a new 150-200,000-square-foot, eco-friendly building that will be located at the northwest corner of Woodall Rodgers and Field Street.

Each finalist will visit Dallas in June to present its capabilities, design perspectives and ideas for the new Museum. The Museum, in cooperation with the Architectural Forum, will host four free public lectures so that the Dallas community can hear these architects speak. The selection committee plans to make a final decision in the fall.

Larry Speck, former Dean of the School of Architecture at The University of Texas at Austin and architectural consultant to the Museum of Nature & Science, praised the selections.

“I have been through many architect selection processes for many different organizations, and the Museum of Nature & Science has conducted one of the most thorough searches I have ever seen,” Speck said. “All of the finalists have excellent, relevant experience and are also creative designers who make exceptional buildings that truly grow out of their urban context and the needs of the institutions they serve. I feel certain the Museum will end up with an outstanding structure by an extraordinary architect.”

The selection committee looked for architects with experience designing public spaces and a proven commitment to eco-friendly, sustainable design. The Museum has been working with Ralph Appelbaum Associates on exhibition designs for the new facility. Once an architecture firm is selected, it will work hand-in-hand with Ralph Appelbaum Associates to create an innovative, educational family destination that captures the Museum’s mission of inspiring minds through nature and science. The new building will incorporate themes of science, technology, engineering, math, the environment and energy for lifelong learners, starting in early childhood.

Each finalist offers considerable relevant experience:

Morphosis’s Thom Mayne won the 2005 Pritzker Architecture Prize. The firm designed the United States Federal Building in San Francisco, the California Science Center School in Los Angeles and the University of Cincinnati Campus Recreation Center, and is currently working on the Phare Tower in Paris.

Polshek Partnership’s Todd Schliemann designed the Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History and the New York Hall of Science, both in New York City, and the Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco. He is currently designing the Utah Museum of Natural History in Salt Lake City and the Computing and Information Sciences Building at Cornell University. Other projects include the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Ark., and the Newseum in Washington, DC.

Shigeru Ban Architects designed the Seikei University Information Library in Tokyo, the Japan Pavilion for the Hannover EXPO 2000 in Hannover, Germany, and the Paper Art Museum in Mishima, Japan. The firm is currently working on the The Centre Pompidou in Metz, France.

Snøhetta’s Craig Dykers is a native Texan with a degree from the University of Texas at Austin. His firm designed the Bibliotheca Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, and is currently working on the World Trade Center Memorial Museum in New York City and the National Opera in Oslo, Norway. Snøhetta received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2004.

“We are extremely pleased with the caliber of the finalists,” said Nicole Small, CEO of the Museum of Nature & Science. “Each one has its own fascinating history and body of work, and we look forward to selecting one of these fine architects to build a facility that will inspire and educate millions of visitors.”

Each architect will hold public lectures at 7 p.m. in the Nasher Sculpture Center auditorium:

Shigeru Ban – Monday, June 11
Snøhetta – Wednesday, June 13
Morphosis – Tuesday, June 19
Polshek Partnership – Wednesday, June 20

This lecture series has been made possible by two anonymous gifts from donors who want to encourage the public to come learn about these architects, their work and the new Museum.

Plans for the new facility come during a momentous year for the organization, beginning with the merger of the Dallas Museum of Natural History, The Science Place and the Dallas Children’s Museum in 2006 to form the Museum of Nature & Science. Currently, the Museum is hosting the internationally acclaimed Gunther von Hagens’ BODY WORLDS: The Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodiesand has welcomed record numbers of visitors to its Fair Park location. The tremendous response to BODY WORLDS reinforced the Museum’s assertion that there exists a great demand in North Texas for world-class educational exhibitions and programming. The new Victory facility will help the Museum continue to achieve its mission by delivering a dynamic and engaging educational experience for the community.

About the Museum of Nature & Science
The Museum of Nature & Science, formerly the Dallas Museum of Natural History, The Science Place and the Dallas Children’s Museum, is a non-profit educational organization located in Dallas' Fair Park that delivers exciting, engaging scientific and natural history content through its education, exhibition and research and collections programs. The facility also includes the TI Founders IMAX Theater and a cutting-edge digital planetarium. Inspiring minds through nature and science, the Museum is a major North Texas destination for students, teachers, families and life-long learners of all ages. The Museum is supported in part by funds from the City of Dallas and the Office of Cultural Affairs. To learn more about the Museum, please visit www.natureandscience.org .