Berggruen Institute signals new ambition for Herzog & de Meuron-designed Scholars' Campus in L.A.

2020-02-18T18:44:00-05:00

The Paris-born collector and billionaire Nicolas Berggruen says he is moving ahead with plans for his ambitious Berggruen Institute building, designed by the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, that will rise on a plot of land in the Santa Monica Mountains, close to the Getty Center. He says, however, that no date has been set for the ground-breaking of the new venue, which will act as a base for the institute.

The Los Angeles-based Berggruen Institute first unveiled the master plan for its "Scholars' Campus," designed by Herzog & de Meuron in collaboration with Michel Desvigne Paysagiste and Inessa Hansch Architecte as well as executive architect Gensler, in August 2017.

Image © Herzog & de Meuron

Backed by a $500 million endowment, the future campus is intended to rise on a small segment of a 447-acre site in the Santa Monica Mountains with the goal of becoming a private educational forum for scholars and thought leaders to interact.

The institute has now signaled its renewed commitment to the project with the announcement of the first cohort of artist fellows which includes Nancy Baker Cahill, Ian Cheng, Agnieszka Kurant, Martine Syms, and Pierre Huyghe, according to The Art Newspaper.

The Berggruen Institute unveils Herzog & de Meuron's masterplan for new Scholars' Campus in L.A.

2017-08-24T14:20:00-04:00

Plans for The Berggruen Institute's new Scholars' Campus in Los Angeles are shaping up. Most recently, the Institute unveiled the project masterplan designed by Herzog & de Meuron, who is working in collaboration with Michel Desvigne Paysagiste and Inessa Hansch Architecte, and executive architect Gensler.

Atop the Santa Monica Mountains, the linear masterplan aims to respond to the Institute's desire to respect and restore the landscape of its 447-acre site, as well as create a private educational forum for top scholars and thought leaders to interact. The plan also calls for preserving approximately 415 of the 447 acres for open space.

The main feature of the plan is a horizontal, rectangular building dubbed as the Frame, which, from afar, appears to float above the site. Hovering at 12 feet above the ground, the single-story Frame contains a large, central courtyard garden that shows off views of the surrounding landscape. Inside, the bu...

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Berggruen Institute signals new ambition for Herzog & de Meuron-designed Scholars' Campus in L.A.

The Berggruen Institute unveils Herzog & de Meuron's masterplan for new Scholars' Campus in L.A.