What will Las Vegas’ first freestanding art museum look like?
Turn to the desert just outside the city’s doors for a cue.
The Las Vegas Museum of Art has released the first renderings of the 60,000-square-foot building designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Diébédo Francis Kéré, which is targeted for a 2029 opening in Symphony Park downtown.
Inspired by the natural beauty of the Mojave Desert and the Valley of Fire, the structure will be constructed of locally sourced stone and reflect the earthy tones of the surrounding red rock landscape.
The museum features two levels of exhibition space above a lobby that opens onto an open-air plaza with a large canopy providing shade.
Central among the museum’s many design flourishes is the canyon staircase, which takes visitors from the ground floor to the upper galleries, where a large skylight offers natural illumination.
“The building is conceived as a living tree — rooted in place, made of regenerative materials, and responsive to the desert climate,” Kéré Architecture explains on its website.
Ground is expected to be broken on the $200 million museum in 2027.
Contact Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476. Follow @jasonbracelin76 on Instagram.
