Zumthor's LACMA Clears Another Hurdle (Updated)

John Hill

7. November 2019

View west down Wilshire Boulevard (Image: Atelier Peter Zumthor & Partner/The Boundary)

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has revealed that the Los Angeles Public Works Committee has approved the air space vacation that will allow the Peter Zumthor-designed building for the museum's permanent collection to span Wilshire Boulevard.

The news comes about six months after the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved certification of the project's final environmental impact report. The air-space approval was conveyed in a November 6 email from LACMA CEO Michael Govan, who wrote:

Now, we have more good news. Today the City of Los Angeles Public Works Committee approved the air space vacation on Wilshire Boulevard to allow the new building to span the street and result in more open and accessible galleries as well as the addition of 3.5 acres of new open park space. The Committee will refer its positive action to the full City Council on December 3 at 10 am (Council Chambers). This important step will allow us to move forward with our project.

Aerial view; LACMA building in context of Museum Mile (Image: Atelier Peter Zumthor & Partner/The Boundary)

Update 12/10

On December 3, the Los Angeles County City Council "unanimously approved the Wilshire airspace vacation" for LACMA, "a very important milestone for [their] building project," per an email from Govan dated December 4, 2019. The Architect's Newspaper, in its reporting on the news, points out one reason spanning Wilshire is so important: The LACMA campus will "connect to the Purple Line station that is set to be completed in 2023." With this latest good news, construction of LACMA's new building designed by Zumthor will start next year and also open in 2023.