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McNay Art Museum

Despite its Spanish Colonial belfries and arches, the museum's strong suit is Impressionist and modern art (Van Gogh, Picasso, O'Keeffe, Pollock). Fittingly, Parisian architect Jean-Paul Viguier's spare expansion of the San Antonio museum puts a modern twist on the original 1920's buildings with a sleek, 45,000-square-foot glass box. The newly christened Jane and Arthur Stieren Center for Exhibitions nearly doubles the institutions overall space. Transparency defines the new structure: adjustable louvers atop the skylit roof and retractable silkscreened glass beneath it modulate the daylight with such refinement and the shadow of a passing cloud is perceptable. Gardens extend from the glass-walled galleries down to the McNay's lush grounds and outdoor sculptures, including large works by Barbara Hepworth and Anthony Caro.