Rem Koolhaas OMA - LACMA

Rem Koolhaas OMA
LACMA
Los Angeles, California

Photo: Courtesy Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA)
Aerial view of model, east to west

In the competition for a $200-million commission to redesign and unify LACMA’s (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) campus the board of trustees architect selection committee unanimously approved the proposal by Rem Koolhaas.

Koolhaas’ radical design concept, already nicknamed “Cool House”, demolishes most of the existing buildings and replaces them with a single structure of three levels topped by a tent-like translucent roof.

In assessing the possibilities to transform the museum, Koolhaas followed, in his words, the “moral imperative” to create a new, consolidated LACMA rather than attempting to impose order on the existing campus with its eclectic constellation of buildings.

Photo: Courtesy Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA)
New Wilshire Boulevard entrance

Photo: © Museum Associates, LACMA
New building from north

The entire complex is reconceived as a system of horizontal layers, with the exhibition spaces stacked above an open-air plaza.
The notions of transparency and uplift, essential to a true understanding of LACMA’s mission, are made manifest in the translucent roof that spans the entire museum floor. The roof's height allows the museum to create additional floors.
The structure and materials proposed by Koolhaas are at the cutting edge of seismic and environmental technology, complementing the conceptual innovation of his plan.

Photo: arcspace

Separated from the former Museum of Science, History and Arts in 1965, LACMA is the youngest of the nation’s leading encyclopaedic art museums. Its five buildings in Hancock Park on Wilshire Boulevard between Hollywood and Beverly Hills were built between 1965 and 1988. LACMA West, the historic former May Company department store located a block west of the original buildings, was purchased in 1994. The current complex now covers more than 20 acres, bifurcated by a public street and the museum’s parking structure.

Photo: Courtesy Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA)

Koolhaas’s proposed new building houses all of LACMA’s collections on one level. A temporary exhibition space, encased in glass, rests at the plaza's western edge. Behind it, an outdoor cafe faces the park. Overlooking the La Brea Tar Pits, the Bing Theatre is entirely reconceived as an open-air amphitheater, its walls torn out and its seats enveloped in an enormous mechanized curtain.
The collections of each Center for Art unfold chronologically along one axis as an independent unit; if a visitor follows various cross-axes, interconnections between and among these collections emerge, literally and figuratively opening new perspectives. This innovative, non-hierarchical presentation of the museum’s collections creates a new paradigm for the encyclopaedic art museum, breaking from the traditional nineteenth-century Beaux-Arts model.

Exhibition photo: arcspace

The design leaves untouched only LACMA West (the former May Co. at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue), the parking garage, the Japanese Pavilion and the museum's offices located beneath the existing plaza.

Photo: arcspace
LACMA West

Photo: arcspace
The Japanese Pavilion

The process is expected to take five to seven years with a two year design development phase. Construction start is scheduled for 2003.

Exhibition photo: arcspace

Koolhaas’s winning project as well as the projects by Daniel Libeskind, Jean Nouvel, Steven Holl and Thom Mayne are on view at LACMA until the end of March 2002.
An exhibition of the works of Rem Koolhaas OMA is in the planning stage.

Heard over the grapevine.... The day Koolhaas’ design was announced as the winning design for LACMA Thom Mayne had just been told that he was selected, over Koolhaas, to design and build a new California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 7 headquarters in downtown Los Angeles.

Koolhaas will be speaking on Architecture and Urban Design at UCLA January 27 at 5pm.

January 21, 2002

Rem Koolhaas arcspace features





				Features
		Rem Koolhaas OMA LACMA Los Angeles, California Photo: Courtesy Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) Aerial view of model, east to west In the competition for a $200-million commission to redesign and unify LACMA’s (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) campus the board of trustees architect selection committee unanimously approved the proposal by Rem Koolhaas. Koolhaas’ radical design concept, already nicknamed “Cool House”, demolishes most of the existing buildings and replaces them with a single structure of three levels topped by a tent-like translucent roof. In assessing the possibilities to transform the museum, Koolhaas followed, in his words, the “moral imperative” to create a new, consolidated LACMA rather than attempting to impose order on the existing campus with its eclectic constellation of buildings. Photo: Courtesy Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) New Wilshire Boulevard entrance Photo: © Museum Associates, LACMA New building from north The entire complex is reconceived as a system of horizontal layers, with the exhibition spaces stacked above an open-air plaza. The notions of transparency and uplift, essential to a true understanding of LACMA’s mission, are made manifest in the translucent roof that spans the entire museum floor. The roof's height allows the museum to create additional floors. The structure and materials proposed by Koolhaas are at the cutting edge of seismic and environmental technology, complementing the conceptual innovation of his plan. Photo: arcspace Separated from the former Museum of Science, History and Arts in 1965, LACMA is the youngest of the nation’s leading encyclopaedic art museums. Its five buildings in Hancock Park on Wilshire Boulevard between Hollywood and Beverly Hills were built between 1965 and 1988. LACMA West, the historic former May Company department store located a block west of the original buildings, was purchased in 1994. The current complex now covers more than 20 acres, bifurcated by a public street and the museum’s parking structure. Photo: Courtesy Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) Koolhaas’s proposed new building houses all of LACMA’s collections on one level. A temporary exhibition space, encased in glass, rests at the plaza's western edge. Behind it, an outdoor cafe faces the park. Overlooking the La Brea Tar Pits, the Bing Theatre is entirely reconceived as an open-air amphitheater, its walls torn out and its seats enveloped in an enormous mechanized curtain. The collections of each Center for Art unfold chronologically along one axis as an independent unit; if a visitor follows various cross-axes, interconnections between and among these collections emerge, literally and figuratively opening new perspectives. This innovative, non-hierarchical presentation of the museum’s collections creates a new paradigm for the encyclopaedic art museum, breaking from the traditional nineteenth-century Beaux-Arts model. Exhibition photo: arcspace The design leaves untouched only LACMA West (the former May Co. at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue), the parking garage, the Japanese Pavilion and the museum's offices located beneath the existing plaza. Photo: arcspace LACMA West Photo: arcspace The Japanese Pavilion The process is expected to take five to seven years with a two year design development phase. Construction start is scheduled for 2003. Exhibition photo: arcspace Exhibition photo: arcspace Koolhaas’s winning project as well as the projects by Daniel Libeskind, Jean Nouvel, Steven Holl and Thom Mayne are on view at LACMA until the end of March 2002. An exhibition of the works of Rem Koolhaas OMA is in the planning stage. Heard over the grapevine.... The day Koolhaas’ design was announced as the winning design for LACMA Thom Mayne had just been told that he was selected, over Koolhaas, to design and build a new California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 7 headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. Koolhaas will be speaking on Architecture and Urban Design at UCLA January 27 at 5pm. January 21, 2002 Rem Koolhaas arcspace features