MUSEUMS & GALLERIES PHOTO: © NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY
The new wing’s glass facade will enable people in Exposition Park to see into the museum
Natural History Museum Los Angeles, CA, US Opening: 2027 The century-old Natural History Museum of Los Angeles (NHM) is to be transformed over the next decade. Designed by Frederick Fisher and Partners (FF&P), the NHM West/South Project will reimagine the physical space and programmes of the museum, which sits on the same site as George Lucas’s upcoming Museum of Narrative Art. The FF&P masterplan promises increased flexibility, capacity and transparency for the museum’s gallery space, as well as creating a study centre and educational spaces while enhancing 58
visible storage of its collections. A multi-purpose, immersive theatre is also included in the plans and the extra space will act as a hub for the communities around Exposition Park. The concepts show the museum’s Jean Delacour Auditorium wing replaced with a three-storey building and basement – a 485,000 sq ft (45,000sq m) development that would increase total museum space by 60,000sq ft (5,574sq m). The new wing, bookending the main NHM building, will feature a glass facade, enabling people on Exposition Park’s south lawn to see into the museum, while “giving literal expression to the museum’s desire to be open and connected to the community”. Glass displays set into the facade will showcase collections.
ATTRACTIONS HANDBOOK 2018-2019
The museum’s south entrance will be transformed, with the redeveloped space running the length of the south-west perimeter. The scheme also proposes reworking office and gallery spaces to facilitate a more dynamic overlap between public display areas, research activities and collections, and its educational programmes. A rooftop restaurant will offer panoramic views across the city. “What I find thrilling about NHM, in addition to its amazing collections and wonderful presentations, is the way it serves as a point of focus for the diverse communities that gather there, and as an intersection between these communities and the museum’s activities,” said Frederick Fisher, founder of FF&P. ■ http://lei.sr?a=W6T7m www.attractionshandbook.com