Eagle Family Plaza

The DMA charged Hocker and StudioOutside with providing enhanced pedestrian access and increased connectivity to Klyde Warren Park from their north entry, which had evolved as the unintended "front door" since the museum's Downtown opening in 1983. The Eagle Family Plaza project opened in 2016, focusing on the greatly increased foot traffic of the Arts District, while continuing to support the museum's subsurface parking garage's traffic. An outdoor dining terrace and lounge area extending from the interior café replaces an extended planting of shrubs and will be used for special events and dining, al fresco. A minimal steel arbor provides the framework for a green wisteria ceiling above over the outdoor space, sheltering it from the extreme summer sun. An adjacent new lawn serves as a simple, elegant space for sculpture, impromptu games, and seating for special events and festivals.