The Museum Tower in Dallas is near completion and scheduled to open in January 2013 but they are already at odds with their neighbor, the Nasher Sculpture Center.

Back in March, officials from the Nasher said the high-rise’s reflective glass exterior is causing harm to the plants in their outdoor garden and compromising its indoor galleries.

“It all comes down to a very basic principle,” said Jeremy Strick, director of the Nasher Sculpture Center. “You don’t do harm to your neighbors. And if you find yourself doing harm, you fix it. You stop and you fix it. In this case, Museum Tower is causing harm to the Nasher and to the Arts District as a whole.”

Representatives from the Museum Tower are aware of the issues that have come up during construction and have agreed to work with a team of experts to find a solution.

Based on the agreement, no doubt people over at Nasher were shocked by Museum Tower’s full page ad in the Dallas Morning News over the weekend. The ad is an open letter addressed to the city of Dallas:

Museum Tower celebrates the art of living fully immersed in the thriving art culture surrounding it. Since construction began, much has been reported about sunlight reflection from Museum Tower’s glass surface. Prior to construction, Museum Tower’s design plans were open for comprehensive public review and approved by the City of Dallas. Museum Tower is in compliance with every city code. However, it’s not uncommon for bold projects like Museum Tower to encounter an unexpected issue or two, and they are invariably solved.

Our number one priority is finding the best solution to the reflection issue. Over the last year, Museum Tower’s owner, the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System, engaged the most prominent optical experts in North America to study this challenge. A team of architects, engineers, and material and construction experts evaluated more than 20 ideas. Today, the most promising potential solutions are undergoing exhaustive testing with the highest standards of science and technology being applied.

The Museum Tower states that the building’s plans were made available to the public for review and approved by the city. Now they are possibly backing out of the agreement made with Nasher earlier this year in finding a solution and believes the solution falls entirely on Nasher’s shoulders.

For more information, please visit: www.dallasnews.com