L&M Arts
wHY Architecture

Photo: Iwan BaanL&M Arts is a commercial art gallery conceived as pavilions in the garden. The entire site is a venue for art with sculpture installed throughout the site, both indoors and out.

The gallery is situated right on the South side of Venice Boulevard, the main thoroughfare towards Venice beach and the Pacific Ocean just several blocks to the west. It was designed both for visitors inside the gallery spaces as well as for residents and visitors from outside.

Photo: Iwan Baan
The gallery consists of 3 pavilions - 2 galleries and one office area, arranged loosely amidst open garden space. The first gallery is renovated and repurposed from the old 1929's Southern Edison power station that used to serve the citizens of Venice from 1920's up to 1980's. The utilitarian concrete structure with exterior brick walls was enhanced with seismic upgrades, museum-level mechanical systems along with improved natural light with skylights and windows.


Photo: Iwan Baan

Photo: Iwan Baan
The second gallery pavilion is designed with diamond-shape plan for optimizing the gallery space within the odd triangular shape land plot as well as to add dynamic spatial relationship to the old building and Venice Boulevard. The building is finished with recycled bricks, salvaged from downtown Los Angeles building remains, with exposed timber-structure roof fitted with central glass pyramid skylight.

Photo: Iwan Baan

Photo: Iwan Baan

Photo: Iwan Baan

Photo: Iwan Baan

Photo: Iwan Baan
The office-reception area is designed like a bridge, linking the 2 galleries together, and is arguably "Japanese" in its compact space-planning efficiency. The wing contains office rooms, private viewing room and a preparator's area.

Photo: Iwan Baan
For the inaugural exhibition L&M showed new large-scale sculptures by Paul McCarthy, as well as the latest pieces from his Hummel series.
"L&M Arts is designed as a place for art and nature, interior as well as exterior, where a sense of place of Venice deepens the appreciation of the art experience."
Kulapat Yantrasast

Image courtesy WHY Architecture
Site location

Drawing courtesy WHY Architecture
Plan

Drawing courtesy WHY Architecture
Section First Gallery

Drawing courtesy WHY Architecture
Section Second Gallery

Drawing courtesy WHY Architecture
Section Office Reception Bridge