surrounded around the best skyline of california, 444 south hill street is located at the heart of downtown los angeles. nearby one can find neighborhoods composed by bunker hill located at the north, south park located at the west, fashion district located at the south, and skid row and the arts district located at the east side. within the iconic buildings that surround this site we have the u.s. bank tower, bradbury building, two california plaza and millennium biltmore hotel. we also have renowned and remodel communal spaces like perishing square, the central market place and spring street park.  

developed in the heart of los angeles, the museum of contemporary arts erodes from los angele’s urban history. The city of los angeles was fund in 1781. it’s heritage: downtown los angeles, is both a central business district as well as a residential neighborhood. its hub of the city’s metro rapid system and its significantly notorious governmental buildings, parks, theaters and other public spaces, which are in constant evolution, eroding continues movement throughout time. such kinetic location, perfect for a development of a building that would display present artist’s representation that would constantly keep evolving.

a museum designed in memory of american painter, sculptor and printmaker ellsworth Kelly, starts developing behind the inspiration of his minimalist oil on canvas paintings. Kelly’s work, is based on real-life experiences, by replicating shapes, shadows and other visual experiences in his life. His flat, immaculate compositions of pure line, simple forms and saturated, undulated color are in essence found images, distillations of architectural details, shadows, plants and other subtle forms that often might be overlooked. The contour of a leaf, the arch of a bridge and its reflection in water, and the soft curve of a hillside seen from the road have inspired his paintings and sculptures alike. he encourages viewers across the room, to stop and silently analyze his work, by presenting colors that contrast each other free from any brushstrokes or imagery that would be recognized by the brain in some connotative way and irregular shapes that inhabit the canvas confidently in front of the viewer.

the programming of this museum is divided into four main categories: public spaces, private spaces, exhibition and circulation. public spaces are mainly located at the ground floor and at the highest floor, “top and bottom” per say. private spaces are gathered in the underground floor, giving it the privacy it deserves. exhibition spaces are located in the middle floors, acting as the main ingredient of this “sandwich-method” arranging of spaces. one entire floor is dedicated to the primary character of this museum: ellsworth kelly. this floor has indoor and outdoor spaces, to showcase both: his paintings and his sculptures.

the last piece of programming, but the most important one is its circulation. circulation is mainly defined at the upper left hand corner of the building, by a set of staircases located mainly at the angled wall that all public spaces share.

each floor is mainly related to each other by the creation of these new “shaped canvases” inspired by ellsworth kelly. located at the western side of the building, each floor plan shares an upper left corner angled plane, creating a connection between each floor. the primary circulation of the design starts by connecting each level with staircases that are majorly positioned where these angle planes are shared in each level, therefore the main circulation is directed by these set of staircases and the connection between each floor. the secondary circulation is majorly undirected and free to explore, due to the fact that secondary circulation mainly transcends through either public or exhibitions spaces, where no walls make one decide where to go next. except for private space’s circulation, this circulation is rigidly stipulated mainly by hallways and the combination of rooms. the combination between directed and undirected circulation gives one sense of mystery to the rooms where circulation is yet to be explore by one’s curiosity.