In 2014 the McNay Art Museum and master plan committee selected Machado Silvetti and Michael Van Valkenburgh to develop a comprehensive Site and Building master plan for the museum and grounds that reevaluates the site and takes a holistic, forward-looking view of the museum and galleries.

Despite its rich history, inspiring facilities, and consistent growth, the McNay continues to face challenges to meet the needs of its visitors and to accommodate its expanding collections. The pace of its growth over the decades has led the museum to implement a rapid succession of small discreet additions to the original house, and even with the addition of the Stieren Center, key opportunities remain underexploited and gaps remain in telling the story of the relationship between the original house and the transformation into a modern museum. The fragmented nature of its expansion over the years has also resulted in a host of challenges to the McNay's site and infrastructure with respect to art movement and visitor experience.

“The McNay Art Museum and its grounds, with all its many additions, alterations, and evolutions, continues to do exactly what Marion McNay hoped it would do: It beckons the community to experience for themselves the joy and the power of art.”

— Brantley Hightower, AIA, Texas Architect