Archinect - News

The Frank Gehry-designed YOLA Center is a key cog in the transformation of LA's Inglewood suburb

2021-12-27T15:09:00-05:00

It is one of the most vivid examples of efforts by major arts organizations across the country to bring youth education programs out into communities, rather than concentrating them in city centers or urban arts districts. For Inglewood, the new YOLA Center is a notable addition to what has been a transformative wave of stadium and arena construction, which has spurred a wave of commercial and housing development.

The Beckmen YOLA Center opened in October on the site of a former Burger King restaurant as the latest iteration of a wave of high-profile projects tied to a larger plan being pursued by Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. which are reshaping the community of 109,000 in spite of advocates’ criticism that similar developments are fueling a wave of gentrification.

Previously on Archinect: 'LET IT RIP!': Photos of Frank Gehry’s new LA Phil Youth Orchestra Center opening ceremony. Photo: Joshua White/JWPictures.com © LA Phil

For his part, Butts Jr. says the satellite venue, which is as much the vision of Gehry as it is of LA Philharmonic director Gustavo Dudamel, provides a balance in an area known to outsiders for its sports stadiums and past economic woes.

“We’ve never been known for cultural enrichment,” he told The New York Times. “That is why this is so important to us. What’s happening now is a rounding out of society and culture: we will no longer be known for just sports and ente...

'LET IT RIP!': Photos of Frank Gehry’s new LA Phil Youth Orchestra Center opening ceremony

2021-10-22T08:00:00-04:00

The wait is over for one of Frank Gehry’s most highly-anticipated projects in the past few years.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on Saturday for the newly-opened Youth Orchestra Los Angeles Center in Los Angeles. Gehry was joined by LA Philharmonic director Gustavo Dudamel at the Inglewood ceremony, which included performances by both of the 102-year-old institution’s orchestral ensembles.

Image by Mathew Imaging courtesy of LA Phil

Speaking about the new Center, the 92-year-old architect stated simply: “To the kids of Inglewood, I say, 'LET IT RIP!' This is your building, and I hope you use every inch of it to experiment and to further your creative explorations. It was a joy for me to make, and I hope that it is a joy for you to use.”

Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts was also on hand, saying the community has “looked forward to this day for so long,” and expressing the relief that the schoolchildren and their parents felt after not being able to attend classes in person during...

Frank Gehry's new Youth Orchestra Los Angeles facility gets a first sound check

2021-06-01T17:45:00-04:00

The Los Angeles Philharmonic and its Youth Orchestra Los Angeles recently tried out the nearly completed Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen YOLA Center. That is the dilapidated former bank building and Burger King in downtown Inglewood that architect Frank Gehry has transformed into a fabulous performance space and teaching facility for young musicians.

Plans for a Gehry Partners-envisioned permanent home for the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Youth Orchestra first appeared on Archinect in 2017, followed by more concrete designs for the future Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen YOLA Center in LA's Inglewood neighborhood a year later.

Previously on Archinect: Gehry Partners reveal new design for the LA Phil Youth Orchestra. Aerial model view of the Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen YOLA Center @ Inglewood, concert configuration. Photo courtesy of Gehry Partners, LLP.

As with its other Gehry-designed flagship facility, the Walt Disney Concert Hall which opened in Downtown Los Angeles in 2003, LA Phil worked with the team of acclaimed acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota again.

Walt Disney Concert Hall lights up over the weekend with projections by Refik Anadol

2018-10-03T13:42:00-04:00

Celebrating its 100th anniversary, the LA Phil has put on quite the birthday extravaganza, kicking off over the weekend with performances by Chris Martin and members of the Doors; a special CicLAvia bike ride that stretched from Downtown's Disney Concert Hall to the Hollywood Bowl; and a series of vibrant projections from Refik Anadol.

Announced back in September, the local media artist used 45 terabytes of data derived from the Phil's archive to create a series of patterns then projected on the exterior of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Called 'WDCH Dreams', the media installation lit up the iconic Frank Gehry building beginning Thursday night, delighting passersby, and will continue to do so every evening through October 6th.

Gehry Partners reveal new design for the LA Phil Youth Orchestra

2018-08-27T18:17:00-04:00

Initially announced last fall, Gehry Partners' design for Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) has now been revealed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The new structure will be the first permanent facility for YOLA located in the Los Angeles neighborhood Inglewood.

Exterior model view of the Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen YOLA Center @ Inglewood, interior concert configuration. Photo courtesy of Gehry Partners, LLP.

The 25,000-square-foot, $14.5 million construction project will transform the former branch office of Security Pacific Bank in Inglewood.

Exterior model view of the Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen YOLA Center @ Inglewood, interior concert configuration. Photo courtesy of Gehry Partners, LLP.

With the aid of Gehry Partner's new facility, YOLA aims to double the number of students it serves providing free music training and academic support.

Exterior model view of the Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen YOLA Center @ Inglewood. Photo courtesy of Gehry Partners, LLP.

Aerial model view of th...

Frank Gehry to design permanent home for LA Phil's Youth Orchestra

2017-11-09T20:28:00-05:00

Among major initiatives announced for the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s centennial year is the creation of a new permanent YOLA center to be designed by Frank Gehry. The famed architect will transform an existing facility, located in the LA suburb of Inglewood, into a central resource for the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles program.

“The LA Phil is the first orchestra anywhere to take such an enormous step for the future of its community. Thanks to the time I’ve spent with Gustavo, I’ve seen the difference that YOLA makes in young people’s lives. I’m proud to play my part by making spaces where the kids can feel inspired, and YOLA can open up the whole world of music to them" said Gehry.

YOLA currently serves about 1,000 students across the Los Angeles area. The center will be a hub for fostering a greater number of young people who aspire to careers in music, helping to achieve the LA Phil’s goal of doubling the number of students they serve by 2022.

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Check out the wild variety of virtual reality at Bjork's Magic Box installation

2017-05-16T15:12:00-04:00

As highlighted in this week's edition of Archinect's Event Picks, Bjork's virtual reality showcase at the Magic Box at The Reef in downtown LA will run from May 19th-June 4th, with an in-person performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic by the artist on May 30th. What's worth checking out in detail is the scope of the VR exhibit, which incorporates a variety of different directors, locales, and landscapes. According to a press release, the VR installations include:

Stonemilker VR - Filmed on a remote beach location in Iceland and directed by Andrew Thomas Huang, Stonemilker VR presents Björk in a windswept 360-degree film performing the first track from Vulnicura.
Black Lake VR - Commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Black Lake VR features a custom-built immersive space featuring a bespoke, cutting-edge surround sound setup to create an immersive and visceral virtual reality experience. Filmed in the highlands of Iceland, the video was directed by Andrew Thomas Huang....

Gehry and Salonen discuss ten years of music at Disney Concert Hall

2013-10-16T16:15:00-04:00

To celebrate Disney Hall’s tenth anniversary, architect Frank Gehry and Conductor Laureate for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Esa-Pekka Salonen reminisced on the building’s inspiration last night, at a discussion held at the Hammer Museum. Co-hosted by the LA Phil, far from the actual concert hall and its spotty downtown L.A. environs, the discussion’s moderator Nicolai Ouroussoff (former architecture critic for the New York Times) tried to tease out the relationship between architecture and music. While Salonen touched upon questions of classical music’s relevance, Gehry didn’t delve too deeply into the particulars of his design.

As Music Director for the LA Philharmonic from 1992-2009, Salonen oversaw the orchestra during its transition from the slightly-stuffy Dorothy Chandler Pavilion over to Disney Hall, and is highly regarded for whipping the Philharmonic into shape as a progressive and formidable cultural institution. The trajectory of the LA Phil is largely wrapped up in b...