The Building
The main floor of the 55,000-square-foot building is divided into five pavilions. Walls are clad in two-inch wide slabs of Italian travertine, entirely concealing the facility’s environmental and security systems and providing a quiet setting for the presentation of sculpture. The facades at each end are clear glass, allowing the pavilions to visually extend into the garden and creating a seamless continuity between the Center’s indoor and outdoor spaces.
A unique barrel-vaulted glass ceiling is suspended above the galleries, atop narrow steel ribs and supported by thin, stainless steel rods. An innovative cast aluminum sunscreen, specifically designed for the Center, floats above the roof and allows controlled natural light to filter into the galleries, providing the optimum illumination for viewing sculpture.
The three central pavilions on the main floor serve as galleries, while the outer two accommodate offices and public space, including a store and cafe.
The lower level includes a smaller gallery for the display of light-sensitive works, a conservation lab, educational and research facilities and an auditorium that opens to a terraced garden.
The Garden
In addition to the indoor galleries, the one-and-a-half-acre sculpture garden features approximately 25 large-scale sculptures.
The gently sloping garden enclosed by travertine-clad walls provides an oasis of art and nature in the midst of the vibrant urban core.
A variety of mature foliage, including magnolias, cedar elms, live oaks, crepe myrtles, willows and holly, defines intimate viewing spaces and creates “outdoor rooms” intended for quiet reflection and contemplation of the featured works.
Nasher Sculpture Center Map
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