Bendheim Wall Systems’ Channel Glass Project Among Seven Finalists In Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Bloch Building in Kansas City, Mo. is one of seven finalists for the inaugural Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize (MCHAP). Founded by Wiel Arets, Dean of the College of Architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), the MCHAP award recognizes the most distinguished architectural works in the Americas.

The most striking feature of the Bloch Building’s design is its channel-glass-clad exterior. Bendheim Wall Systems worked closely with the Steven Holl Architects team to provide custom 16”-wide Lamberts channel glass creating the double-glazed curtain walls of the five building “lenses.” The remarkable design is yet another confirmation of the prominent role channel glass can play in transforming exterior spaces.

The seven MCHAP finalists were drawn from a shortlist of 36 projects and were selected by five jury members, after a visit to each site. The jury members are: President Kenneth Frampton, Ware Professor of Architecture at GSAPP, Columbia University, New York; Wiel Arets, Dean of the College of Architecture and Rowe Family College of Architecture Dean Endowed Chair at IIT, Chicago; Jorge Francisco Liernur, Architect, Professor at Torcuato Di Tella University, and Researcher of Argentina’s National Council for Scientific and Technical Investigation, Buenos Aires; Dominique Perrault, Founding Principal, Dominique Perrault Architecture, Paris and Professor at EPFL, Lausanne; and Sarah Whiting, Dean and William Ward Watkin Professor, Rice School of Architecture, Houston.

“The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Bloch Building has garnered multiple awards and continues to inspire and rouse the architectural community,” states Michael Tryon, General Manager of Bendheim Wall Systems. “Lamberts channel glass played an integral role in the award-winning design, and we are honored to have been part of this amazing project. We hope it will be named the MCHAP winner in the fall.”

The winner will be announced at the MCHAP Conference slated for Wednesday, October 22, in Chicago. It will present an opportunity for the design community to discuss what constitutes the most innovative and significant contemporary architecture in the Americas.

To view the Bloch Building’s complete list of honors, please visit https://www.bendheimwall.com/project.cfm?project_id=15.

Bendheim Wall Systems, Inc. is North America’s leading channel glass wall systems supplier. The company’s award-winning projects include Steven Holl’s Bloch Building/Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Shaw Center for the Arts by Schwartz/Silver, and the Boston ICA by Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Bendheim’s partnership with Glasfabrik Lamberts, the largest privately held cast glass factory in Europe, spans eight decades.