The Kimbell Art Museum was designed by American architect Louis I. Kahn between 1966-1972. The museum has been widely acclaimed by its innovative use of natural light and subtle articulation of space and materials. The museum consists of six bays of 104’- long concrete cycloid shells, divided crosswise into three equal sections (Figure 3). The museum is illuminated by narrow skylights that admit natural light, which is then dispersed by perforated metal reflectors onto the underside of cycloid-shaped vaults and down the walls (Reference 2).

The Kimbell Art Museum introduced the novel transparent daylight reflector, which together with the cycloid-shaped roof system introduced a totally new quality of controlled ambient lighting in museums. The success of this innovation inspired a renewed interest in the use of daylighting in art museums and influenced art museum design thereafter.

Amon Carter Museum

The Amon Carter Museum was designed by American architect Philip Johnson in 1961. Initially the museum was conceived as a small memorial structure, its collection grew rapidly and needed additional space. The museum expanded its area in 1964, 1977 and finally in 2001. The current total area of gallery is 28,400 ft2 (2,638 m2). The collection of artwork consists of 240,000 objects of mainly paintings, sculpture, photography, and works on paper.

The museum’s main entrance wall consists of an east-facing two-story curtain wall of dark tinted glass with bronze mullions, and with an arched portico in its front. The main entrance leads to a two-story exhibit hall of shell stone, brown teak and a floor of pink and grey granite (Reference 3). Beyond the main area, there are several windowless galleries. Later, a new atrium was included in the layout, which introduced natural light to the core of

the new building addition. Towards the south facade there is a gallery that receives natural light through a south-facing window. See Figure 4.