LOS ANGELES | METRO Project Rundown 2.0 (non-downtown)

[LAnative61]

Originally Posted by craigs

I cannot find any source for the heights of the new residential towers behind the renovated Fairmount Century Plaza. Anybody have an idea?

Looking at the area on Google Earth, it seems that the two towers should be measured from Solar Way, which has a street elevation of approximately 273 feet, and not from the elevated Avenue of the Stars at 302 feet. I think Wikipedia has the correct height of 600'. Also, the twin theme towers(571' X 2)are closer to Century Park East with an elevation of 271', and that is why the new towers appear taller.....because they are!

[craigs]

Construction goes vertical at LACMA's $750M revamp

A Peter Zumthor-designed building will span across Wilshire

Steven Sharp
Urbanize LA
October 5, 2021

A year after we last checked, a trio of tower cranes has risen at the former site of LACMA's lost William Pereira- and Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer-designed buildings,
showing the most visible signs of progress on a controversial $750-million remodel of the Mid-Wilshire campus.

The project, designed by architect Peter Zumthor, will consist of a new concrete and steel structure spanning above and across Wilshire Boulevard, containing
350,000 square feet of floor area within its undulating two-story frame.

LACMA will reportedly name the new wing the "David Geffen Galleries," in honor of one of its principal donors.

The construction process, which began with the demolition of some of LACMA's original buildings in 2020, is expected to be completed in 2023.
. . . .

[homebucket]

Interesting design. The part where it goes over Wilshire kinda reminds me of an airport terminal where people are dropped off and picked up.

[craigs]

Originally Posted by homebucket

Interesting design. The part where it goes over Wilshire kinda reminds me of an airport terminal where people are dropped off and picked up.

If you check out the article, it turns out that they own parcels on both sides of Wilshire. Obviously, if they bridge the roadway they can have hundreds of thousands of square feet of gallery space but also leave room on the main campus for landscaping and/or other structures.

[edale]

I'm a LACMA member, and I'm pretty conflicted about the new museum structure. The old complex was a bit of a mess-- disjointed and hard to navigate around. I support the idea of tearing down those buildings and constructing a new, single building to house the majority of the galleries.

But there are several things to dislike about the new museum structure they are building. The biggest issue I have with it is that the new structure will have less gallery space than the buildings it's replacing. LACMA is only able to display a small fraction of its HUGE collection, and this new building should expand what is able to be shown, not reduce the gallery space!

I also don't love the idea of expanding over Wilshire when they already have such a huge space on the north side of the street. Get rid of the gargantuan waste of space that is the 'levitating mass' installation, and make better use of all the unused open space included in the museum complex. Going over Wilshire seems drastic and unnecessary when there is so much available space that could be utilized. I also don't love that the whole museum is going to be at the second level, potentially creating a huge void of activity at the ground level. People sit on the steps at the Met and Art Institute of Chicago, creating neat urban public spaces. This new design allows for none of that, and instead takes all the energy off the street. The building itself also seems quite bland, and the only thing interesting about it is the amorphous form of the building. The underside could become quite dark and uninviting unless careful consideration is taken to activate it.

Overall, I'm interested to see how this shakes out, but I think it's a pretty big missed opportunity to do something iconic and expand the space of the museum.

[LAisthePlace]

The levitating mass is the decision I've never understood. I actually like the piece, but to devote *so* much, easily developable land to a single piece of art when it could potentially hold hundreds if another wing was built there is wild to me.

I'm cautiously optimistic that the new LACMA will exceed expectations (especially the ground floor plaza areas), but I can't help but think it all would have been easier/cheaper/make more sense if they just built over the area where Levitating Mass is.

Originally Posted by edale

I'm a LACMA member, and I'm pretty conflicted about the new museum structure. The old complex was a bit of a mess-- disjointed and hard to navigate around. I support the idea of tearing down those buildings and constructing a new, single building to house the majority of the galleries.

But there are several things to dislike about the new museum structure they are building. The biggest issue I have with it is that the new structure will have less gallery space than the buildings it's replacing. LACMA is only able to display a small fraction of its HUGE collection, and this new building should expand what is able to be shown, not reduce the gallery space!

I also don't love the idea of expanding over Wilshire when they already have such a huge space on the north side of the street. Get rid of the gargantuan waste of space that is the 'levitating mass' installation, and make better use of all the unused open space included in the museum complex. Going over Wilshire seems drastic and unnecessary when there is so much available space that could be utilized. I also don't love that the whole museum is going to be at the second level, potentially creating a huge void of activity at the ground level. People sit on the steps at the Met and Art Institute of Chicago, creating neat urban public spaces. This new design allows for none of that, and instead takes all the energy off the street. The building itself also seems quite bland, and the only thing interesting about it is the amorphous form of the building. The underside could become quite dark and uninviting unless careful consideration is taken to activate it.

Overall, I'm interested to see how this shakes out, but I think it's a pretty big missed opportunity to do something iconic and expand the space of the museum.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by edale

I'm a LACMA member, and I'm pretty conflicted about the new museum structure. The old complex was a bit of a mess-- disjointed and hard to navigate around. I support the idea of tearing down those buildings and constructing a new, single building to house the majority of the galleries.

But there are several things to dislike about the new museum structure they are building. The biggest issue I have with it is that the new structure will have less gallery space than the buildings it's replacing. LACMA is only able to display a small fraction of its HUGE collection, and this new building should expand what is able to be shown, not reduce the gallery space!

I also don't love the idea of expanding over Wilshire when they already have such a huge space on the north side of the street. Get rid of the gargantuan waste of space that is the 'levitating mass' installation, and make better use of all the unused open space included in the museum complex. Going over Wilshire seems drastic and unnecessary when there is so much available space that could be utilized. I also don't love that the whole museum is going to be at the second level, potentially creating a huge void of activity at the ground level. People sit on the steps at the Met and Art Institute of Chicago, creating neat urban public spaces. This new design allows for none of that, and instead takes all the energy off the street. The building itself also seems quite bland, and the only thing interesting about it is the amorphous form of the building. The underside could become quite dark and uninviting unless careful consideration is taken to activate it.

Overall, I'm interested to see how this shakes out, but I think it's a pretty big missed opportunity to do something iconic and expand the space of the museum.

I could not agree more with your sentiments.

[LA21st]

What is the construction crane at Universal city for??

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by homebucket

Interesting design. The part where it goes over Wilshire kinda reminds me of an airport terminal where people are dropped off and picked up.

You shoulda seen the first renders.




Bad renders aside I think this could be an interesting building. Some of the exhibition spaces look amazing.

[ChrisLA]

Originally Posted by badrunner

Bad renders aside I think this could be an interesting building. Some of the exhibition spaces look amazing.

It looks something like The Getty, sort of okay but I’ll leave my final judgment once it’s built. As of now it’s looks a little weird and the over the street addition makes me think of an overpass, or even the cross over at the Crenshaw Plaza. It just seems like it will be dark and not too inviting, just look up the Metro Green line station in Lynwood-Long Beach Blvd station.

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by ChrisLA

It looks something like The Getty, sort of okay but I’ll leave my final judgment once it’s built. As of now it’s looks a little weird and the over the street addition makes me think of an overpass, or even the cross over at the Crenshaw Plaza. It just seems like it will be dark and not too inviting, just look up the Metro Green line station in Lynwood-Long Beach Blvd station.

Yeah it could end up looking like a freeway underpass or something. I do like all the new open space around the building though. That, along with the Urban Light installation will get people to wander on to the property. It's a little more inviting than the old building which was just a wall facing Wilshire.

[ocman]

Zumthor is a master of internal space. I’m expecting the galleries to surprise those who aren’t familiar with his work. The biggest shame was the removal of the chapel ceilings (see below). I wonder if those were budgetary compromises Zumthor had to make, because those were the highlight of the whole structure and would have given a sense of grandness and space and help alleviate museum fatigue.

Crossing Wilshire is a problem because you’re bisecting the public space with a busy intimidating street. Unless they designate the stair there as an emergency exit only and force people back to the main museum area for entering and exiting, it’s going to be annoying leaving and realizing you’ve exited far away from the action, essentially outside of the museum area.

As far as taking energy off the street by lifting it off the ground, not necessarily a bad thing because the energy of confining people to one area is replaced by what’s become a lot of open space. That’s a luxury if they use it well, but also a challenge.

What’s certain though is that this doesn’t solve the space issue the museum originally had. LA may need additional buildings in a couple decades.

[Illithid Dude]

I've heard from internal sources that Zumthor has been very close to leaving the project multiple times due to what he perceives as being the compromised nature of his project. I too am upset that the chapels were lost, but I'm not sure they would have saved a development that was flawed from its very inception. At least the new Academy Museum ended up looking very nice, though I have my qualms about its content... It's certainly worth seeing a movie in the new David Geffen theater, though make sure you bring a bottle of water, as they don't sell concessions and the water fountains are shut down.

[LAisthePlace]

https://www.latimes.com/business/sto...ty-los-angeles

Apple plans big office expansion in Los Angeles area as it adds employees



In a sign that competition among streaming entertainment providers will stay heated in the years ahead, Apple announced Friday that it will roughly double its office presence in the Culver City area where Apple TV+ is based.The expansion of more than 550,000 square feet in two adjoining buildings is larger than expected by real estate industry observers. Apple, Netflix, Amazon, HBO and other streaming services have been gobbling up office and production space in recent years to help churn out movies and television series for their subscribers. “It’s a bold expansion,” said Petra Durnin, head of market analytics at Raise Commercial Real Estate. “These streaming giants are betting on the strength of demand for content even after the pandemic is over” and more people leave their homes again for entertainment.Apple said it would erect two new mid-rise buildings connected by a shared wall on multiple parcels in Culver City and Los Angeles surrounded by Venice, National and Washington boulevards. The parcels are now mostly occupied by small retail and light industrial buildings.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company currently has more than 1,500 employees in Culver City and L.A., including workers at Apple TV+ and Apple Music as well as engineers and teams working on artificial intelligence and machine learning.

In April, Apple said that it would spend $430 billion while creating 20,000 jobs in the United States over the next five years. The Culver City team would be expanded to more than 3,000 employees by 2026, Apple said at the time, and Apple would build a larger campus to house them.Apple occupies about 500,000 square feet of offices in the area now, Durnin said.

The expanding Apple campus is near the Metro rail stop in Culver City. The new facilities will incorporate environmentally sustainable building features and be powered by 100% renewable energy, spokeswoman Rachel Tulley said.

Apple did not say what development company would build the new buildings or when construction might start. The project is in its planning stages, Tulley said.

[Radio5]

[QUOTE=LAisthePlace;9419468]https://www.latimes.com/business/sto...ty-los-angeles

Apple plans big office expansion in Los Angeles area as it adds employees




Do we know the address of this?

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by LAisthePlace

https://www.latimes.com/business/sto...ty-los-angeles

Apple plans big office expansion in Los Angeles area as it adds employees



In a sign that competition among streaming entertainment providers will stay heated in the years ahead, Apple announced Friday that it will roughly double its office presence in the Culver City area where Apple TV+ is based.The expansion of more than 550,000 square feet in two adjoining buildings is larger than expected by real estate industry observers. Apple, Netflix, Amazon, HBO and other streaming services have been gobbling up office and production space in recent years to help churn out movies and television series for their subscribers. “It’s a bold expansion,” said Petra Durnin, head of market analytics at Raise Commercial Real Estate. “These streaming giants are betting on the strength of demand for content even after the pandemic is over” and more people leave their homes again for entertainment.Apple said it would erect two new mid-rise buildings connected by a shared wall on multiple parcels in Culver City and Los Angeles surrounded by Venice, National and Washington boulevards. The parcels are now mostly occupied by small retail and light industrial buildings.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company currently has more than 1,500 employees in Culver City and L.A., including workers at Apple TV+ and Apple Music as well as engineers and teams working on artificial intelligence and machine learning.

In April, Apple said that it would spend $430 billion while creating 20,000 jobs in the United States over the next five years. The Culver City team would be expanded to more than 3,000 employees by 2026, Apple said at the time, and Apple would build a larger campus to house them.Apple occupies about 500,000 square feet of offices in the area now, Durnin said.

The expanding Apple campus is near the Metro rail stop in Culver City. The new facilities will incorporate environmentally sustainable building features and be powered by 100% renewable energy, spokeswoman Rachel Tulley said.

Apple did not say what development company would build the new buildings or when construction might start. The project is in its planning stages, Tulley said.

That is such huge news. That whole radius around Downtown Culver City is feeling the effects of all these new entertainment jobs.

[Illithid Dude]

I think I like the design - looks like it could be their go-to-architect Norman Foster. But I'm not sure I can support something that treats the pedestrian space so poorly. In an area with so much retail, what's the sense of greeting the pedestrian with a ten foot high concrete wall? Hopefully as the project is refined commercial space, or at least a more transparent barrier, is added to the ground floor.

[Quixote]

Sweet. I'm assuming this rendering depicts the corner of Venice and National.


https://www.latimes.com/business/sto...ty-los-angeles

[Quixote]

The building they occupy at the corner of Washington/National is only 125,000, so this new expansion will be roughly 4.5 times the size of that. That means that Apple will probably occupy the entire block bounded by Venice, Washington, National, and the Helms complex. I wish they would use this project to consolidate their entire LA presence though.

[sopas ej]

I'm actually very excited about the new LACMA. I can't wait until it's done.

Yeah, I'm kind of disappointed that the gallery space will be smaller than what previously existed, but with the right programming, they could change the displays of the permanent collections and somehow make it go with a theme of a temporary exhibit, or something like that, and make it a whole new experience for people who have been coming to LACMA for years (like myself) and are already familiar with their permanent collections, as well as for people who have never been to LACMA before.

The old LACMA buildings were walled off/fenced off from Wilshire Blvd. anyway; this new building could actually engage the street and sidewalks more with the public spaces beneath the new building, and with the new subway station, could make for a very lively environment. And it provides SHADE---something that, for all the sunshine we get, it'd be nice to have some shade too, as well as shelter from the occasional rain. People are often wanting to make LA be like every other city urban-wise/pedestrian-wise, make it fit into some kind of mold/template, but LA is badass---I really like that it's its own animal.