The Los Angeles Board of Supervisors yesterday approved the contribution of $125 million in bond funds to LACMA’s $600 million makeover, which, under the guidance of Peter Zumthor, would tear down most of the campus and snake over Wilshire Boulevard. The new 410,000 square foot building would open in 2023, with the remaining funding coming from private donations. According to the LA Times, LACMA director Michael Govan told the Board of Supervisors that the museum’s older buildings “are really ailing. They are not worth saving. The new building will be much more energy efficient and accessible to a broad public.”
According to LACMA the campus’ existing buildings would need $246 million to $320 million for upgrades. And so in a city of teardowns, the biggest museum in town seems to be clearing the way for one of its own. Meeting their demise would be William Pereira’s Ahmanson, Hammer, and Bing buildings, as well as Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer’s 1986 addition. Buildings remaining would include Renzo Piano’s new BCAM and Resnick buildings and Bruce Goff’s Japanese Pavilion.
The project is still far from moving ahead. LACMA spokesperson Miranda Carroll recently told AN that there is close to a year remaining before the project’s feasibility concludes, and the museum’s board still must vote to proceed. The agreement (PDF) with the supervisors also provided about $7.5 million for feasibility and planning studies.
