The Broad, L.A.’s newest contemporary art museum, will open this Sunday, Sept. 20.
The 120,000-sf, three-story museum cost $140 million and was designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Gensler. Founded by philanthropers and art collectors Eli and Edythe Broad, the museum houses nearly 2,000 pieces of contemporary art from artists that include Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns. It also provides 15,000 sf of exhibition space on the ground floor and 35,000 sf of naturally-lit, column-free space on the third floor.
The museum's design concept is called "the veil and the vault." It combines gallery space and collection storage.
The vault, which stores the heart of the collection, is located in the center of the building. It is in full view, hovering midway in the building, and its carved underside shapes the lobby below and the public circulation routes.
A 105-foot escalator tunnels through the vault to the third-floor gallery. Visitors also descend through the vault via a winding stair, where they can see the art collection through windows into storage areas. Meanwhile, the veil is a honeycomb-like structure that spans the block-long building and provides natural daylight. The veil lifts at the front entry corners of the building, through which visitors enter into a lobby and gift shop.
Along with The Broad museum, construction was completed on Grand Avenue, the street where the museum is situated. A 24,000-sf public plaza, landscaped with a grove of 100-year-old Barouni olive trees and a tilted lawn, was built, as were a new crosswalk and planted median that connect The Broad on the west side of Grand Avenue with MOCA and the Colburn School.
A pair of wide stairs and an elevator connecting the plaza with the planned Hope Street Metro Regional Connector Rail station at 2nd Street was built on the west side of the street.
At the western end of the plaza will be Otium, a restaurant that will open in fall 2015.
The Broad includes a 155,000-sf, three-story subterranean parking garage with spaces for 344 vehicles, including spaces for electric cars and bicycles.
The Broad's third floor gallery with skylights and interior veil
Related Stories
Museums | Jun 20, 2024
Connecticut’s Bruce Museum more than doubles its size with a 42,000-sf, three-floor addition
In Greenwich, Conn., the Bruce Museum, a multidisciplinary institution highlighting art, science, and history, has undergone a campus revitalization and expansion that more than doubles the museum’s size. Designed by EskewDumezRipple and built by Turner Construction, the project includes a 42,000-sf, three-floor addition as well as a comprehensive renovation of the 32,500-sf museum, which was originally built as a private home in the mid-19th century and expanded in the early 1990s.
Libraries | Jun 7, 2024
7 ways to change 'business as usual': The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library
One hundred forty years ago, Theodore Roosevelt had a vision that is being realized today. The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is a cutting-edge example of what’s possible when all seven ambitions are pursued to the fullest from the beginning and integrated into the design at every phase and scale.
Headquarters | Jun 5, 2024
Several new projects are upgrading historic Princeton, N.J.
Multifamily, cultural, and office additions are among the new construction.
Museums | May 20, 2024
Museum design connects art, architecture, and nature
Three recent examples show how landscape views enhance exhibit space.
Cultural Facilities | Apr 8, 2024
Multipurpose sports facility will be first completed building at Obama Presidential Center
When it opens in late 2025, the Home Court will be the first completed space on the Obama Presidential Center campus in Chicago. Located on the southwest corner of the 19.3-acre Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park, the Home Court will be the largest gathering space on the campus. Renderings recently have been released of the 45,000-sf multipurpose sports facility and events space designed by Moody Nolan.
Cultural Facilities | Mar 27, 2024
Kansas City’s new Sobela Ocean Aquarium home to nearly 8,000 animals in 34 habitats
Kansas City’s new Sobela Ocean Aquarium is a world-class facility home to nearly 8,000 animals in 34 habitats ranging from small tanks to a giant 400,000-gallon shark tank.
Museums | Mar 25, 2024
Chrysler Museum of Art’s newly expanded Perry Glass Studio will display the art of glassmaking
In Norfolk, Va., the Chrysler Museum of Art’s Perry Glass Studio, an educational facility for glassmaking, will open a new addition in May. That will be followed by a renovation of the existing building scheduled for completion in December.
Museums | Mar 11, 2024
Nebraska’s Joslyn Art Museum to reopen this summer with new Snøhetta-designed pavilion
In Omaha, Neb., the Joslyn Art Museum, which displays art from ancient times to the present, has announced it will reopen on September 10, following the completion of its new 42,000-sf Rhonda & Howard Hawks Pavilion. Designed in collaboration with Snøhetta and Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture, the Hawks Pavilion is part of a museum overhaul that will expand the gallery space by more than 40%.
Products and Materials | Feb 29, 2024
Top building products for February 2024
BD+C Editors break down February's top 15 building products, from custom-engineered glass bridges to washroom accessories.
Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024
Top 40 Museum Construction Firms for 2023
Turner Construction, Clark Group, Bancroft Construction, STO Building Group, and Alberici-Flintco top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest museum and gallery general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
