Houston's Rothko Chapel will be closed much of 2019 for an expansion that worries preservationists Filed under Architecture at Dec 11 Share

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Written by Profile image for Mark Lamster Mark Lamster, Architecture Critic Connect with Mark Lamster

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Houston's Menil Collection recently expanded with a new center for drawing that manages to be a work of exceptional design that fits right into its Montrose community. But questions are being raised about the construction of a welcome center for the neighboring Rothko Chapel.

As the Houston Chronicle reports, dismantling recently began on one of the area's defining bungalows — exactly the kind of building the Menil has sought to save and incorporate into its own various expansions — to make space for the Rothko center. The design, by the distinguished New York firm Architecture Research Office, would also mean improvements to the chapel itself, which can be overly dark. The project would close the chapel for much of 2019, according to the Chronicle.

Rothko representatives suggest the unmounted bungalow, and several others on its property, might find new homes. Residents are rightly concerned, and wonder what else representatives of the notoriously cantankerous (and brilliant) painter have in store. So do we.