Joslyn Art Museum Expansion

Omaha, NE
Exterior view of the Rhonda & Howard Hawks Pavilion
Photo © Nic Lehoux, courtesy of the Joslyn Art Museum
Exterior view of the original 1931 Joslyn Building (left), designed by John and Alan McDonald, and the new Rhonda & Howard Hawks Pavilion designed by Snøhetta (right)
Photo © Nic Lehoux, courtesy of the Joslyn Art Museum
Exterior view of the Rhonda & Howard Hawks Pavilion (left), curving to meet the Suzanne & Walter Scott Pavilion (right), designed by Norman Foster
Photo © Nic Lehoux, courtesy of the Joslyn Art Museum
Exterior view of the 1931 Joslyn Building (left) and the Rhonda & Howard Hawks Pavilion (right)
Photo © Nic Lehoux, courtesy of the Joslyn Art Museum
Interior view of the Phillip G. Schrager Atrium in the Rhonda & Howard Hawks Pavilion with views of the Joslyn Building, Scott Pavilion, and the Entry Garden
Photo © Nic Lehoux, courtesy of the Joslyn Art Museum
Interior twist connection looking into the new Hawks Pavilion from the glass atrium that connects it to the 1931 Joslyn Building and the 1994 Suzanne & Walter Scott Pavilion
Photo © Nic Lehoux, courtesy of the Joslyn Art Museum
The Phillip G. Schrager Collection on view in the galleries also named for the collector inside the Hawks Pavilion
Photo © Nic Lehoux, courtesy of the Joslyn Art Museum
Installation view of works from the Joslyn Art Museum’s contemporary collection in the new Rhonda & Howard Hawks Pavilion
Photo © Nic Lehoux, courtesy of the Joslyn Art Museum
Exterior view of the Suzanne & Walter Scott Pavilion, designed by Norman Foster
Photo © Nic Lehoux, courtesy of the Joslyn Art Museum
Exterior view of the Rhonda & Howard Hawks Pavilion with a view of the Grand Lawn at the base of the 1931 Joslyn Building’s Grand Steps
Photo © Nic Lehoux, courtesy of the Joslyn Art Museum
Exterior view of the Rhonda & Howard Hawks Pavilion
Photo © Nic Lehoux, courtesy of the Joslyn Art Museum
Interior view of the Phillip G. Schrager Atrium in the Joslyn Art Museum’s Rhonda & Howard Hawks Pavilion
Photo © Nic Lehoux, courtesy of the Joslyn Art Museum
Architects
Snøhetta
Location
2200 Dodge Street, 68102 Omaha, NE
Year
2024
Client
Joslyn Art Museum
Team
Craig Dykers, Michelle Delk, Aaron Dorf, Kate Larsen
Architect, Interior Architect, Landscape Architect
Snøhetta
Local Architect
Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture
Project Manager
Anser Advisory (formerly Ascent)
Structural Engineer
MKA
Structural Engineer of Record
Thompson Dreessen & Dorner
MEPFP Engineer, A/V, Telecom, LEED Documentation
Morrissey Engineering
Civil Engineer
Olsson
Façade Consulting
Front
Specialty Lighting Design, Acoustics
Arup
Sustainability, Energy Analysis, LEED Administration
A10
Commissioning Agent
BranchPattern
General Contractor
Kiewit Building Group

Snøhetta, in partnership with local architects Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture (APMA), designed a new expansion and site redesign for the Joslyn Art Museum. The 42,000-square-foot addition adds light-filled galleries designed to meet the demands and explore the possibilities of a growing permanent collection, including works from the nationally renowned Phillip G. Schrager Collection of Contemporary Art.

In addition to the new gallery spaces, the architectural team designed more than three acres of rejuvenated public gardens and outdoor spaces on the Museum site as well as restored and modernized existing office spaces in the Joslyn Memorial building. The expansion renews Joslyn's status as Omaha's premier cultural hub for the visual arts by reorienting the Museum grounds around a reimagined public arrival anchored by new community spaces that support the galleries.

While the existing monolithic buildings are anchored more heavily to the ground, the new building floats atop two granite garden walls, with a transparent first floor enclosing a new atrium lobby, Museum store, and a multi-function community space. These ground floor spaces gradually rise to the level of the existing buildings via a gently sloping, accessible walkway. The weightless effect of the hovering expansion recalls the striking cloud formations that blanket the Great Plains as well as the deep overhangs and horizontal expression of regional Prairie Style architecture.

The horizontal texture of the façade takes its cue from the stacked stone steps of the Memorial Building’s monumental Grand Staircase that emerge from the East side of the existing buildings in parallel with the expansion. The façade’s light-colored precast panels are embedded with vibrant pops of pink aggregate that reflect the rich, rose-colored marble of the existing buildings.

With the new expansion, returning visitors to Joslyn Art Museum will immediately notice important changes to the grounds that clarify their arrival and increase the connectivity between existing spaces. The primary access to Joslyn has been relocated to the northern edge of the site, off Davenport Street, leading to a redesigned entry drive that sits on axis with a new, raised sculpture garden and Museum entrance, creating a clear sense of front and a new beginning for the Museum experience. New sculpture gardens have been reimagined as a sweeping collection of landscape spaces and outdoor “rooms” that wrap the site, weaving the buildings and outdoor spaces together around a spine formed by the existing installation The Omaha Riverscape by sculptor Jesús Moroles.

Honoring Joslyn’s identity while opening a more porous, inviting front, the expansion marks a new chapter in the Museum’s vision for public access to the arts through a comprehensive redesign. The expansion builds upon Joslyn’s rich history as an iconic landmark and cultural hub as it creates a dynamic, inclusive design that is open to all.

The pavilion is named after Rhonda and Howard Hawks of The Hawks Foundation. The Hawks Foundation provides grants for higher education, social services, and the arts.

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