ACADEMY MUSEUM, LOS ANGELES
“We’re rising very quickly out of the ground at Wilshire and Fairfax,” says Kerry Brougher, director of the Academy Museum, which will open on L.A.’s Miracle Mile in 2019.
Spearheaded by Pritzker Prize-winning Italian architect Renzo Piano, the project is comprised of two parts. The first is the renovation of a 1939 Streamline Moderne landmark (the former May Company department store), done in collaboration with architecture firm Gensler. The second is a 130-foot-tall orb that projects from the back of the historic building, housing a 1,000-seat theater topped by a glass-enclosed terrace.
“Renzo’s ideas fit with ours,” says Brougher, noting the architect’s use of light and darkness, and compression and expansion, to cinematic effect. “His design for the theater is industrial–it feels like futuristic transportation, and that’s what a movie theater is, it takes you to other places and times.”
Along with screenings, the museum will offer exhibitions, lectures and dining and retail spaces.
