The new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is set to open on Sept. 30 at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles. Renzo Piano Building Workshop designed the project in collaboration with Gensler as the executive architect.
The 300,000-sf project combines two contrasting structures; the renovated and expanded May Company building, a 1939 Streamline Moderne landmark now dubbed the Saban Building, and a new glass-and-concrete spherical building.
The 250,000-sf Saban Building houses the Fairfax Avenue entrance and Sidney Poitier Grand Lobby, the museum’s exhibition galleries, the 288-seat Ted Mann Theater, the Shirley Temple Education Studio, the Debbie Reynolds Conservation Studio, Fanny’s restaurant and cafe, and the Academy Museum Store. The 45,000-sf sphere building houses the 1,000-seat David Geffen Theater and the Dolby Family Terrace. The museum's massive, 690-panel orb theater is balanced on four mega-column supports designed to protect the museum from earthquakes.
Visitors can access the Sphere Building from the Saban Building via the Casey Wasserman Bridge at mezzanine level. The pedestrian bridge crosses over the David Geffen Theater and the Barbra Streisand Bridge on the fifth floor, which crosses over to the Dolby Family Terrace.
At the base of the sphere outside the northern entrance to the museum is The Walt Disney Company Piazza, which features dwarf southern magnolia trees and kart shrubs, California fan palms, vinca minor, Mexican fan palms, and jacaranda trees.
The Academy Museum’s 50,000 sf of gallery space will open with a series of exhibitions that honor the museum’s mission to share the history of cinema. Exhibitions will include the three-floor core exhibition Stories of Cinema, the first ever Hayao Miyazaki retrospective in North America, and other temporary exhibitions that advance the understanding, celebration, and preservation of cinema.
The Academy Museum build team comprised:
Architects: Renzo Piano Building Workshop in collaboration with Gensler
Project Manager: Paratus Group
Engineers and Consultants (in structural engineering; mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering, lighting design, environmental design, energy modeling, and IT systems): Buro Happold
The project has been awarded LEED Gold certification.
Related Stories
| Jun 25, 2013
DC commission approves Gehry's redesign for Eisenhower memorial
Frank Gehry's updated for a new Dwight D. Eisenhower memorial in Washington, D.C., has been approved by the Eisenhower Memorial Commission, reports the Washington Post. The commission voted unanimously to approve the $110 million project, which has been gestating for 14 years.
| Jun 5, 2013
USGBC: Free LEED certification for projects in new markets
In an effort to accelerate sustainable development around the world, the U.S. Green Building Council is offering free LEED certification to the first projects to certify in the 112 countries where LEED has yet to take root.
| Jun 3, 2013
Construction spending inches upward in April
The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced today that construction spending during April 2013 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $860.8 billion, 0.4 percent above the revised March estimate of $857.7 billion.
| May 21, 2013
7 tile trends for 2013: Touch-sensitive glazes, metallic tones among top styles
Tile of Spain consultant and ceramic tile expert Ryan Fasan presented his "What's Trending in Tile" roundup at the Coverings 2013 show in Atlanta earlier this month. Here's an overview of Fasan's emerging tile trends for 2013.
| May 2, 2013
First look: UC-Davis art museum by SO-IL and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
The University of California, Davis has selected emerging New York-based practice SO-IL to design a new campus’ art museum, which is envisioned to be a “regional center of experimentation, participation and learning.”
| Apr 30, 2013
Tips for designing with fire rated glass - AIA/CES course
Kate Steel of Steel Consulting Services offers tips and advice for choosing the correct code-compliant glazing product for every fire-rated application. This BD+C University class is worth 1.0 AIA LU/HSW.
| Apr 26, 2013
Documentary shows 'starchitects' competing for museum project
"The Competition," a new documentary produced by Angel Borrego Cuberto of Madrid, focuses on the efforts of five 'starchitects' to capture the design contract for the new National Museum of Art of Andorra: a small country in the Pyrenees between Spain and France.
| Apr 24, 2013
Los Angeles may add cool roofs to its building code
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants cool roofs added to the city’s building code. He is also asking the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to create incentives that make it financially attractive for homeowners to install cool roofs.
| Apr 23, 2013
Architects to MoMA: Don't destroy Williams/Tsien project
Richard Meier, Thom Mayne, Steven Holl, Hugh Hardy and Robert A.M. Stern are among the prominent architects who on Monday called for the Museum of Modern Art to reconsider its decision to demolish the former home of the American Folk Art Museum.
| Apr 17, 2013
First look: Renzo Piano's glass-domed motion pictures museum
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last week released preliminary plans for its $300 million Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences museum in Los Angeles, designed by Renzo Piano and local architect Zoltan Pali.
