Visitors to SMU’s Meadows Museum have long been drawn by the beauty of the exhibits within the building. This fall, however, the Meadows Museum will showcase its outer beauty as the facility unveils a newly designed entrance.
The museum began a six-month reconstruction of its façade in March. Meadows Museum staff say they hope the renovation of the building’s exterior – which will feature a well-manicured lifted park – will finally match the impressiveness of its interior.
“The visitors get put off because they’re sort of overwhelmed by the way it looks now,” says Leu-Jiun Ten, an SMU graduate student who works at the museum’s front desk.
Museum officials agreed upon the change for three main reasons, according to Collections Manager and Exhibition Curator Bridget Marx. The first reason is the museum officials sought a clearer connection between the facility and the campus. Secondly, officials believed the former façade was not a welcoming environment for visitors and students. Lastly, officials wanted to create a better view of the Wave sculpture in front..
Architect Thomas Krähenbühl designed the new entryway with help from Wave sculptor Santiago Calatrava. The renovation plan includes new access stairs from Bishop Boulevard, a 9,000-square-foot lawn, multiple benches and a terrace overlooking the Wave sculpture.
Removing “dense vegetation” surrounding the plaza, including the Wave, will allow it to “be more integrated with Bishop Boulevard and campus,” Marx said, adding “the grassy areas, trees and benches will give a more ‘park-like’ environment to the plaza, providing a more agreeable space to sit, visit and study.”
Meadows Museum Public Information Officer Victoria Winkelman says the renovation will create better seating in front of the building “where people could really take time and enjoy the modern sculptures on the plaza in a more leisurely way.”
Ten said the intense heat on the previous facade often kept visitors away.
“The white limestone plaza was hot and did not provide protection from the sun,” says Marx. “Because of the brightness of the sun, it was difficult to spend time outside with the pieces…[The new plan] will allow students “time to ‘be’ with the art.”
This “art” includes the Wave and eight more modern sculptures by renowned artists such as Auguste Rodin, Henry Moore and Aristide Maillol.
Meadows Museum founder Algur Meadows donated the impressive sculpture collection to SMU in the 1960s in honor of his second wife, Elizabeth Bartholow, for her passion of sculptures, Winkelman said. The museum has one of the largest and most extensive Spanish art collections outside of Spain, with artwork dating back to the 10th century.
Meadows Museum officials say they expect the renovated entrance to better complement the museum’s impressive and important collection of modern outdoor sculptures and serve as a site for yearly exhibitions on the plaza.
The renovation has caused minor inconveniences for visitors and Meadows staff during the spring and summer. The museum has to remind visitors that it is still open despite the “construction” look, Marx said.
The Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The Museum is open until 8 p.m. on Thursdays and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors 65 and over.
The Museum offers free admission for SMU students, faculty and staff with an SMU ID and for children under 12.
