Behind the Architectural Design of Memphis Art Museum: Conversation with Herzog & de Meuron

Global Council Exclusive

Join Executive Director Zoe Kahr in conversation with Ascan Mergenthaler and Phil Schmerbeck of Herzog & de Meuron, hosted by the Doris Duke Foundation, as they go in depth on the new design for the Memphis Art Museum—an architectural landmark built with community at its center. 

Crafted with archimania and OLIN, the new museum opens itself to the city with a transparent façade, light-filled galleries, and an expansive courtyard that feels like a shared public living room. Warm natural materials evoke the clay banks of the Mississippi, while rooftop gardens, river views, classrooms, and civic gathering spaces turn the museum into a cultural commons that connects art, landscape, and everyday life. 

This is a building designed to welcome people in—and let creativity flow out onto Memphis’ streets.