Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Audrey Jones Beck Building

The completion of the Audrey Jones Beck Building more than doubled the institution’s exhibit space and moved the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston from the 30th to the 6th largest fine arts museum in the nation. The Audrey Jones Beck Building enables 15% of the museum’s artwork to be on view at one time, as opposed to 5% before the opening of the building. The seemingly simple exterior, clad in Indiana limestone, is not indicative of the intricate systems that make the building the acclaimed structure it is. Once inside, those who enter the four-story, 192,000-sf landmark will experience “a museum filled with an explosion of overhead natural light,” according to the New York Times. Additionally, Bellows built a four-story, 348-car parking garage, complete with office and maintenance facilities. For visitor access to and from the museum, Bellows constructed two underground tunnels connecting the garage, Beck Building, and Law Building. The gallery passage is a work of art itself, its light display gives visitors a hint of what’s to come.