LACMA was founded in 1961, splitting from the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science and Art. Four years later, it moved to the Wilshire Boulevard complex designed by William Pereira. The museum's wealth and collections grew in the 1980s, and it added several buildings beginning in that decade and continuing in subsequent decades.
Constructed, 1965
The museum consisted of three buildings: the Ahmanson Building, the Bing Center, and the Lytton Gallery. The Board selected LA architect William Pereira over the directors' recommendation of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for the buildings.
Addition, 1986
Since the mid-1980s, OLIN has been actively involved in the expansion and renovation of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The original commission was to unite the disjointed complex of buildings and spaces into a logical ensemble.
Renovation, 2008
Renzo Piano led the plans to transform the museum in three phases. The shortlisted candidates were Rem Koolhaas, Jean Nouvel, Steven Holl, Daniel Libeskind and Thom Mayne.
Rebuilt, 2020
Four buildings on the campus were demolished to make way for a reconstructed facility designed by Peter Zumthor.
The scope of work included the design of a fountain at the museum’s new entrance, a central court, interior and exterior courtyards, terraces, and new paving for the Wilshire Boulevard sidewalk
OLIN was also responsible for the construction documentation of the proposed grading, irrigation, planting and paving.
Since the completion of the original scope of work, a number of adjacent projects have emerged: the West Sculpture Garden, the East Sculpture Garden, the original garden for Shin-en-Kahn and Wilshire Boulevard Street Improvements.
The West Sculpture Garden project involved the renovation of an existing sculpture garden dating from the 1960s; work consisted of tree pruning, new pavements, new planting, irrigation, sculpture and walkway lighting, and the refurbishment of existing fencing.
The East Sculpture Garden also involved the renovation of an existing sculpture garden in which to site a number of important 20th-century works of art, including a huge pool with jets that activate a Calder sculpture commissioned for the museum
The Wilshire Boulevard Street Improvements consisted of a planting design for the museum’s main entry and frontage along Wilshire Boulevard.