Magnum Opus | Ellsworth Kelly’s Austin

Austin, Texas, USA

Realizing one of the great modern masterpieces of our time.

Illustration of two human silhouettes side by side, one handing an object to the other, reminiscent of Ellsworth Kelly's modern art style.

A black horizontal line against a white background captures the minimalist essence of the Binational River Park.

Client

The University of Texas at Austin

Project Size

4,500 SF

Completed in

2017

Ellsworth Kelly’s final work and Magnum Opus, Austin, quickly became an icon of the city as well as the center of life on the UT Austin campus upon its completion in 2018, three years after Kelly’s passing. Its rainbow-inspired stained-glass windows create streams of color that change position throughout the day, while 14 large-scale black and white marble reliefs representing Stations of the Cross and a signature soaring redwood totem create a sacred, reflective experience.

Every aesthetic element of Austin was reviewed by Kelly, who had never been involved in designing or constructing a building before, let alone one for public use that had to meet code requirements and the university’s design standards. Overland’s team collaborated with Kelly on every detail of the design, including sourcing the same white marble used for Michelangelo’s Pietà.

Compared by many to the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Austin is a contemplative space for spiritual and non-spiritual people alike. It calls on the power of art, abstraction, and light to touch the human soul. Whether you are moved or quieted, Kelly’s own self-effacing spirit lives on in the chapel, taking visitors on a journey beyond themselves and into a place of transcendence.

Envisioned as a site for joy and contemplation, Ellsworth Kelly’s Austin is a prime example of the powerful and often interconnected relationship between architecture and art.

It is quite possible that 50 years from now, no one will remember what I accomplished at this university except bringing this master work of contemporary art to Austin.

Bill Powers, Past President of UT Austin

Three of the chapel’s vaulted arms draw the gaze up to the stained glass installations, creating a dynamic play of color and light as the sun moves throughout the day.

Awards

2020 Design-Build Institute of America Merit Award – Civic Assembly

2018 Architect Magazine Top 50 Award – Design & Sustainability

2018 CODAworx International CODA Award

2018 Engineering News Record Best Project — Cultural/Worship

One of the main design challenges was that while some areas needed to be strictly separated, others needed to be closely connected. Multiple entrances and walkways were crucial for preliminary meetings involving all the parties so that victims didn’t turn a corner and come face to face with their abusers. A basic U-shaped structure offered the best solution, given the parameters of the site.

Austin has already proven to be a destination art piece, elevating this pocket of the UT campus and the city of Austin, and allowing visitors to see the world through the eyes of a great master of Contemporary artwork.

Project Process

Originally conceptualized in 1986 and completed in 2018 after five years of meticulous design and construction, Ellsworth Kelly’s first and only building, Austin, finally stands on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin.

Known for their nuanced, showcase collaboration with artist James Turrell on The Color Inside—a Turrell Skyspace located on the rooftop of UT-Austin’s Student Activity Center —and through their relationship with the artist, OVERLAND was brought on to realize the artist’s masterwork. After Kelly’s passing in 2015, the project gained new significance as his final work.

Ellsworth Kelly died at the age of 92, before the completion of the chapel, shortly after signing the design documents, giving his artistic seal of authenticity. Kelly had vision for the building in intricate detail. As such, getting inside the mind of the artist was the primary challenge for the team—taking Kelly’s vision and turning it into a constructible design that could survive the Texas climate for generations to come. Humble materials—stone, plaster, steel, and glass—came to life in the mind of Kelly, who was inspired by the Romanesque structures he encountered while studying art in Paris. The final result has much the same effect, solitude, community, culture, reverence, and reflection converging in a single transept.

A group of five people stands around a white table with a colorful model, discussing in a spacious, well-lit room adorned with paintings and artworks, reminiscent of an Ellsworth Kelly exhibit.

Two men stand at a table covered with various materials and color samples in a brightly lit room, reminiscent of an Ellsworth Kelly studio. Both men wear glasses and sweaters. One man speaks while the other looks towards the array of modern art supplies on the table.

Three people are observing an artist seated at a table, working on a scale model of a building with a curved, modern design, much like the fluid forms in an Ellsworth Kelly abstract painting.

Kelly had vision for the building in intricate detail. As such, getting inside the mind of the artist was the primary challenge for the team – taking Kelly’s vision and turning it into a constructible design that could survive the Texas climate for generations to come.