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 | Dec 16, 2015
Gluckman Tang-designed museums could stimulate economy in North Adams, Mass.
The goal is to create a “cultural corridor” between North Adams and Williamstown, Mass.
Museums | Dec 4, 2015
Calatrava’s Milwaukee Art Museum gets handsome addition by HGA
The lakefront addition gives visitors expansive views both inside and out.
Museums | Dec 3, 2015
SANAA’s design selected for Hungary’s new National Gallery and Ludwig Museum
After months of deliberation, the Japanese firm ultimately won the tie with Snøhetta.
Museums | Nov 23, 2015
Daniel Libeskind unveils design for new Lithuanian modern art museum
Located in the national capital of Vilnius, the Modern Art Center will be home to 4,000 works of Lithuanian art.
Museums | Nov 11, 2015
MVRDV designs a ‘disco ball’ for Rotterdam
Called the Collectiegebouw (Dutch for "collection building"), the building will make public the city’s extensive art collection, and give visitors a look at how museums work backstage, according to Fast Company.
Museums | Nov 10, 2015
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum breaks ground on Collections and Conservation Center
Designed by SmithGroupJJR, the David and Fela Shapell Family Collections and Conservation Center will provide long-term, secure preservation for evidence of the Holocaust.
Museums | Nov 6, 2015
Studio Gang designs sculpted science center for the American Museum of Natural History
The Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation will hold areas where visitors can engage with high-tech tools, such as gene mapping, 3D imaging, and big data assimilation and visualization, all to learn about the current state of scientific research.
Museums | Nov 4, 2015
George Lucas museum design by MAD Architects finally gets green light
The project will go ahead with its revised, smaller-scale design.
Museums | Oct 22, 2015
Kengo Kuma’s design for cultural museum in the Philippines evokes prehistoric cave feel
The Museum of Indigenous Knowledge in Manila, will house over 4,000 years of history.
Museums | Oct 20, 2015
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Bachman Wilson House finds new home at Arkansas museum
Crystal Bridges Museum reconstructed the 61-year-old Usonian house and will open it to the public in November.
