LOS ANGELES | METRO Project Rundown 2.0 (non-downtown)

[Radio5]

[QUOTE=plinko;10267799]A few shots of the LACMA expansion under construction from over the weekend:

Are the windows fully installed or only on that side of Wilshire still?

[edale]

The new LACMA looks like shit. I thought the windows were at least supposed to be curvy to match the amorphous shape of the building. The concrete looks industrial and cheap, the windows appear to be a victim of value engineering, and we're left with less gallery space than the prior campus had. Great job LACMA leadership! What a missed opportunity to actually build an iconic cultural landmark for LA.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by edale

The new LACMA looks like shit. I thought the windows were at least supposed to be curvy to match the amorphous shape of the building. The concrete looks industrial and cheap, the windows appear to be a victim of value engineering, and we're left with less gallery space than the prior campus had. Great job LACMA leadership! What a missed opportunity to actually build an iconic cultural landmark for LA.

Doesn't look like it at least based on these renderings, unless there are some other ones you are referring to.



https://la.urbanize.city/post/more-p...ffen-galleries

[homebucket]

Actually it looks like there are 3 sections with curved glass, and the other corners will be angular. Unfortunately it's not clear from plinko's photos but I assume that those sections will remain curved. The ones we can see clearly from the photos he shared do accurately depict where it should be angled corners.

Also not a fan of the bare concrete slab as choice of primary exterior material. It already looks to have an aged, blotchy look to it and not in a good way.



https://la.urbanize.city/post/lacma-...signed-rebuild

[caligrad]

For some reason i thought the finished product was going to be glazed in some kind of shiny black paint. Its looking a little civic center brutalist, reminds me of the old Long Beach City Hall that they tore down. I think the city and architects focused too heavily on trying to figure out a way to make it cross Wilshire AND be sturdy enough to withstand earthquakes without damaging exhibits. When all we asked for were new buildings to replace the old ones.

They could have given us rectangular boxes with some kind of nice architecture to them inside and out and people would have been happy. I haven't been happy since the day they said floor space would shrink. Thats NEVER a positive when it comes to museums.

[plinko]

So I rarely judge a building until it's completed, and I won't here, but I note that in the rendering shown above by homebucket, the concrete that so many of you seem to hate looks to be clad in travertine or limestone.

[edale]

Originally Posted by plinko

So I rarely judge a building until it's completed, and I won't here, but I note that in the rendering shown above by homebucket, the concrete that so many of you seem to hate looks to be clad in travertine or limestone.

Well I think that's sadly a result of deceptive renderings. One of the whole points of the new building's design schema is the use of architectural concrete. Read more about it here:

https://www.lacma.org/forming-david-geffen-galleries

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by plinko

So I rarely judge a building until it's completed, and I won't here, but I note that in the rendering shown above by homebucket, the concrete that so many of you seem to hate looks to be clad in travertine or limestone.

If it's clad in travertine or limestone with some sort of satin sheen it would look nice I think, but I'm not sure if that is what is being planned, especially based on edale's link.

So what is the final color and texture that visitors are going to see?

Peter's vision and his style is very much about raw, honest materials. The concrete itself has no additives, no cover up. There's no added color. It's a natural gray concrete color selected from many samples to be the specific tone and texture desired. And what we liked about that is you can see more of the hand of the craftsman in the work. This building is a concrete sculpture and the craftspeople are the artists. We always talk about this “hand of the craftsman.” So you'll see seams, you'll see a fastener or two, and every single line and bump was methodically drawn, detailed, coordinated by Peter’s team in Switzerland, the architecture (SOM) team here, and our concrete partner Largo Concrete. Each one of those is intentionally placed such that you can see the way things fit together.

[dax_gray]

Originally Posted by edale

The new LACMA looks like shit. I thought the windows were at least supposed to be curvy to match the amorphous shape of the building. The concrete looks industrial and cheap, the windows appear to be a victim of value engineering, and we're left with less gallery space than the prior campus had. Great job LACMA leadership! What a missed opportunity to actually build an iconic cultural landmark for LA.

I always thought the new LACMA looked like shit even in the renderings. Never was onto the whole exposed concrete look. It feels like something that may have been cool in 2015, but in itself it just looks incomplete. Wrapper faces the same problem.

Lucas museum on the other hand, is stunning.

[Radio5]

Went on a tour of TVC studios where they show a model of the whole plan. It's pretty rad.

Summary: 36 months to build, estimated to be done around 2029/2030 depends on EIR. Photo of model below:

https://imgur.com/a/zyMBKkn

[FromSD]

Originally Posted by edale

The new LACMA looks like shit. I thought the windows were at least supposed to be curvy to match the amorphous shape of the building. The concrete looks industrial and cheap, the windows appear to be a victim of value engineering, and we're left with less gallery space than the prior campus had. Great job LACMA leadership! What a missed opportunity to actually build an iconic cultural landmark for LA.

I agree. I thought the windows were supposed to be curved to match the curves of the roof. Wasn't the effect supposed to be organic or amoeba-like or even a call-out to a blob of floating oil on the surface of the La Brea tarpits? I also thought the concrete was supposed to be darker colored, but maybe it just looked that way in the renderings I saw in the LA Times.

I'm not an architect, but to me the juxtaposition of the angular windows with the curved roofline just seems to be a bit off. I'm sure curved glass would have been much more expensive, but it would have been worth it. Why spend the money to cantilever the building over Wilshire, but then skimp on the windows? But that's just my opinion.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by homebucket

Doesn't look like it at least based on these renderings, unless there are some other ones you are referring to.



https://la.urbanize.city/post/more-p...ffen-galleries

Yeah, the windows follow the floor outline, not the roof.

[sopas ej]

I'm sure I'm in the extreme minority, but I'm optimistic it'll look cool once all the temporary structures and fencing come down, and the building is totally completed.

The following photos by Paul Clemence/LACMA:


Paul Clemence/LACMA


Paul Clemence/LACMA


Paul Clemence/LACMA


Paul Clemence/LACMA


Paul Clemence/LACMA


Paul Clemence/LACMA

Link, plus more pictures: Peter Zumthor’s Vision Takes Shape: Paul Clemence Releases LACMA Progress Photos

[craigs]

Proposed apartment tower clears a hurdle at 3100 Wilshire Boulevard in Koreatown

Crescent Heights plans 297 apartments above retail and parking

Steven Sharp
Urbanize Los Angeles
August 22, 2024

A proposal from Miami-based developer Crescent Heights to build a high-rise apartment complex near Bullocks Wilshire in Koreatown has avoided an obstacle.

A letter dated July 25 from the Planning Department indicates that the Planning Commission failed to act on an appeal targeting the project at 3100 Wilshire Boulevard, meaning that entitlements approved in January 2024 by the Director of Planning will stand. Creed LA, a coalition of building trades unions, had sought to block the granting of a categorical exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act to the project.

The approved project calls for the construction of a new 34-story tower which would feature 297 apartments above a 410-car garage. Crescent Heights has also proposed to maintain portions of an existing 1930s commercial building, which would be used as approximately 7,100 square feet of retail and restaurant space, as well as amenities, a leasing office, and a lobby.
. . . .

[wisheye]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

I'm sure I'm in the extreme minority, but I'm optimistic it'll look cool once all the temporary structures and fencing come down, and the building is totally completed.

I'm in your camp. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a cool landmark for the city. Anyway I'm more excited about the Perenchio gift (500M$ worth of art) finally coming to LACMA once this building is finished (a condition placed when the gift was announced 10 years ago).

[LAisthePlace]

Originally Posted by wisheye

I'm in your camp. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a cool landmark for the city. Anyway I'm more excited about the Perenchio gift (500M$ worth of art) finally coming to LACMA once this building is finished (a condition placed when the gift was announced 10 years ago).

I also am fan and is going to delight the 90% of people in the city and who visit who didn't follow the "saga' about build it.

And think the Perenchio gift was likely a major factor in making sure the building was built. I think that will be a transformational gift and continue to bolsters LACMA's strong rise in the art world over the last several decades.

[LAisthePlace]

SHoP Habitat development at 3401 La Cienega Boulevard is now officially taller than VOX. Love the cluster that is forming here. IMHO will be the best ToD on any light rail line in Los Angeles.

[colemonkee]

Oh wow, they are flying on that thing!

[plinko]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

I'm sure I'm in the extreme minority, but I'm optimistic it'll look cool once all the temporary structures and fencing come down, and the building is totally completed.

I was there again tonight and can confirm that the curved glazing frames are all in, not straight.

[HusBy]

Originally Posted by wisheye

I'm in your camp. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a cool landmark for the city. Anyway I'm more excited about the Perenchio gift (500M$ worth of art) finally coming to LACMA once this building is finished (a condition placed when the gift was announced 10 years ago).

I agree and am excited about it! It has the makings of an urban monument, whether you like it or not. And I love what it does for the park and how it stitches everything together.

Hope they have some plans for the Renzo entry canopy as that is starting to look out of place - I believe it was originally designed to be somewhat temporary. And some plans to tidy up the tar pit excavation exhibits nearby (I suppose that's under the Paige Museum's control).