The three-year-long argument between an art museum and the owners of a 560-ft-tall luxury condominium tower in Dallas, Texas rumbles on. This week, the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System, which owns the residential Museum Tower in the city’s arts district, has agreed to reopen negotiations with the Nasher Sculpture Centre to find a solution for the glare caused by the building’s all-glass exterior.
So far, two proposals have been turned down. According to the Dallas Morning News, the pension system’s board of trustees had offered to install a film that would cut down the glare by 50%, but officials at the Nasher believe that even with the film, the reflection off the glass façade would still cause damage. Meanwhile, the museum had hoped to test the installation of louvred screens to the outside of the tower, but Dallas City Council members said this was no longer an option.
The argument has been ongoing since March 2012, when the Nasher filed complaints with the city during the building’s construction, saying the sun reflecting off the glass exterior was damaging art inside the galleries, harming the garden landscaping and blinding visitors.
In May 2012, the lawyer Tom Luce was brought in to mediate the discussion, but he quit just five months later without finding a solution.
Now, the pension has agreed to have the executive director of the board meet with the Nasher Sculpture Centre and the tower residents to come to an agreement within 90 days. This will then be proposed to the board for approval.