Zumthor describes the wing as “a concrete sculpture,” with floors, walls and ceilings of exposed concrete. There will be bronze surrounds on the window and door openings throughout the building. When I visited Haldenstein, he and his colleagues were weighing final choices for the color palette of the walls at the base of the new wing, inside the various legs. “Lively, not dark colors, to give identity to different spaces,” he said. “And then you come up into this world of concrete.” — The New York Times
Ahead of next year’s anticipated completion, Peter Zumthor says his sculptural new David Geffen Galleries at LACMA will be bereft of the most recognizable traces of his Pritzker-winning design signature — a claim the museum's director Michael Govan then refuted. The man who once said, “the real core of all architectural work lies in the act of construction,” pointed to a faulty concrete pour at the outset and difficulties with the site’s foundation as factors that forced his design to be streamlined. The paring down of the overpass-like wing connector that covers Wilshire Boulevard was another point of contention.
Critics like Mimi Zeiger have described the project as “environmentally tone-deaf.” Hawthorne has thus far withheld any criticisms of his own, preferring to cover the project through a more explanatory journalism.
Construction on the new building is now 65% complete as of October 1st. The article mentioned the new wing may not be fully opened to the public until 2026.
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At this point, nothing to do but embrace the blot. It made more sense as a black ink blot emulating the tar pits themselves, but oh, well here we are. A fine alt proposal would have been to build a spike condo tower south of Wilshire on LACMA land (The Plinth?) and use the condo sales funds to finance the renovation of the original structures, while allowing art vaults and retail/gallery space in the new build. Rem's Koolhaus' original proposed design could have also been an option. Instead of actual decreased art space.
It will be a public sensation when opened and added to the 'culture lane" in that park starting from La Brea Tar Pits and Museum to the Pavilion for Japanese Art, via the components of the County Museum including the inkblot to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Museum, and hopscotching to Petersen Automotive Museum across the street.
This kind of public spectacle is the new museum typology. Most critics of the LACMA's new building deny and ignore this contemporary mass marketing and profitability.
This is a pretty minimal design, blot notwithstanding. Also it looks like it has been stripped down from Z's original intent. You have to wonder how long the oh wow! factor will last. Then what? Will the museum have to stage crowd pleasing exhibitions? It has now defined itself as a place of public spectacle, and has committed itself to that in years to come, I assume. At what price?
And if you build it and they don't come—
I would be willing to believe this more save for Zumthor's own words in which he seems to be retreating from authorship of what is being built.
This raised an obvious question: After all that simplifying, which elements of the LACMA building will be recognizable as Zumthor details?
“There are no Zumthor details any more,” he said flatly.
It's all SOM LA, to be fair. Zumthor's office simply cannot work at such a large scale. He picks materials and charts the overall aesthetic direction while SOM does all the rest - and that's the majority of the project.
Where is the one on one? I don't understand why there's no interview here.
I looked everywhere for the link and then I finally found it. How many articles have I missed because of the "subtle" format here.
Zumthor sounds totally over the project LOL. Even Govan came across as exhausted.
In 2019, after the Los Angeles County Supervisors unanimously voted for the new LACMA building, we did a public records request for emails from citizens in the days leading up to the vote. There were a lot of emails, and 83% of them opposed the project. The Supervisors ignored their constituents then.
Since Peter Zumthor now denies LACMA's new building is his work due to millions diverted for engineering costs, we are calling for the Los Angeles County Supervisors to stop construction and audit the project to learn where the money is going and determine if there is enough to build a functioning public institution. Please read, sign and share, and contact the Supervisors if you agree.
Gawd this will be as wasteful as the building.
How can we know that without an audit?
You're being just as ridiculous.
No, just dogged. We were in the trenches advocating to save the Pereira campus, meeting with Govan and planners for Ridley-Thomas and Kuehl, testifying at City Council to oppose the air rights giveaway, drafting a ballot measure to put citizens on the LACMA board and protect the art in the event of financial collapse, publishing bombshell public records including the 83% public opposition to the new project and LACMA having lost the lease on the South LA satellite at the time Govan was touting it to the Supervisors. Somebody needs to call this theft of public resources out and demand transparency. If you're cool with this, fine. We're not.
Concept drawing.
Gonna look great on a T-Shirt
Somehow Zumthor was able to merge the contemporary OMA graphic sensibility with a unique sensory experience (TBD in person)
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