MMA is designing a new 54,000 square foot art museum for a university in the Midwest. Positioned at the edge of campus, adjacent to a performing arts center and arboretum, the building serves as a gateway into the school—welcoming students, members of the local community, and international visitors alike. The museum’s growing collection of art from the region and across the globe anchors the program, with permanent holdings and traveling exhibitions in continuous dialogue, tracing the varied artistic traditions of the Midwest and connecting them to broader global narratives.

The building’s gentle, sloping form rises toward the north, establishing a presence that reads distinctly from every approach. Its rotation off the adjacent boulevard activates the entry sequence from east and west while opening a generous shaded landscape toward the campus arboretum—extending the building’s reach into the broader campus terrain and softening the boundary between institution and grounds.

Inside, a generous entry hall orients visitors and establishes the museum as a destination in its own right. More than 12,000 square feet of flexible gallery space accommodates the full range of the museum’s exhibition program, from permanent collection displays to major traveling shows. A 150-seat lecture hall, a 100-person multipurpose room, and additional gathering and seminar spaces are organized around a central courtyard, creating an environment where learning and encounter are inseparable from the experience of the art. Dedicated collection storage, research rooms, and back-of-house facilities expand the museum’s capacity to care for, study, and interpret its holdings.

At the heart of the building, a layered landscape draws on the ecology and character of the surrounding region, connecting the museum and its visitors to the distinct natural environment of the Midwest. This interior landscape serves as both a communal gathering space and an extension of the arboretum beyond—grounding the institution in its place while offering a living counterpoint to the collections displayed within.

The University Art Museum project is led by Michael Maltzan Architecture in collaboration with MSR Design as Executive Architect, EAPC as Local Advisor and MEP, Guy Nordenson and Associates as Structural Engineer, and TEN x TEN as Landscape Architect.