Project will be one of his first projects outside central Europe
Peter Zumthor will unveil his designs for a $650 million redevelopment of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in an exhibition next month.
The scheme is set to be one of the Swiss architect’s first buildings outside central Europe.
The project would involve the demolition of part of the existing museum, including the original William L. Pereira building of 1965, and a later 1986 addition.
A new extension would be clad in glass, with the main galleries lifted one floor into the air. The roof would be covered in solar panels.
After winning the RIBA Gold Medal earlier this year, Zumthor told BD: “It’s a big step for LA. It should be intimidating for me but it’s the same as doing a chair in my [cabinet maker] father’s shop. You have to do it well and then you start. I am not intimidated at all by its great size, but I am astonished that I am doing this museum.”
Rem Koolhaas had previously been selected to redesign the museum but plans were dropped in 2003 following funding problems.
A three-month exhibition at the museum called ‘The Presence of the Past: Peter Zumthor Reconsiders LACMA’ will open on June 9.
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