The University of Texas at Austin announced on November 16 that Herzog & de Meuron have resigned their commission as design architects for the planned Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art. The architects indicated that their decision was based on their judgement that it would not be practical to bridge differences over the interpretation of the project in the context of the Campus Master Plan. The plan was adopted by the UT System Board of Regents in 1996 to guide future development of the campus.
UT Austin President Larry R. Faulkner said that members of the UT community understand the basis for the decision and are in agreement that it would have been difficult to reach a jointly accepted concept of the new museum. Herzog & de Meuron representatives said that they are convinced that the process of consultation they have gone through with the UT System Board of Regents was productive in defining the parameters of the Blanton Museum. They expressed the hope that the results of the discussion will pave the way for further progress. Herzog & de Meuron, based in Basel, Switzerland, served as design consultants under subcontract with Booziotis & Company of Dallas. The Dallas firm will complete program development in a form that can be transferred to the new design architects after they are appointed.
Donald L. Evans, chairman of the UT System Board of Regents, notes that, "Our vision for the museum continues to encompass three fundamental elements -- that this will be a magnificent building in its own right, that it will be a fitting home to the University's growing and renowned collections of art, and that it will reflect the fact that it occupies one of the most important sites in the state of Texas." The site is the southern gateway to the campus which connects (literally and symbolically) the University with the Capitol building. It symbolizes the link between the University and all the people of Texas. Furthermore, the museum will be across the street from the state’s new Texas history museum, which is under construction at the corner of Congress Avenue and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.
Laura Schwartz