The Presence of the Past: Peter Zumthor Reconsiders LACMA
As part of the Getty’s initiative, Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A., LACMA features The Presence of the Past: Peter Zumthor Reconsiders LACMA, an exhibition about the proposed future of the museum's campus. Swiss architect Peter Zumthor has been commissioned to rethink the east campus, providing new insight into the meaning and function of an encyclopedic museum and the relationship of architecture to its site. The exhibition begins with a detailed examination of the museum's buildings within the complicated history of Hancock Park. It then focuses on Zumthor’s preliminary plans for a new building to house the permanent collection, with several large models built by the architect’s studio.
The exhibition will also present key projects in Zumthor’s career that are most relevant to his vision for LACMA: the Therme Vals in Switzerland, Kunsthaus Bregenz in Austria, and the Kolumba Art Museum of the Cologne Archdiocese in Germany. These projects have resulted in Zumthor winning the highest accolades in the field of architecture, including The Pritzker Prize (2009) and the Royal Institute of British Architects Gold Medal (2013). Together, these examples elucidate key aspects of Zumthor’s practice – his interest in the geologic history of the site; his passion for materials, craftsmanship, and sensory experience; and his commitment to an architecture of total integration.
See this exhibition for free: become a member.
The Presence of the Past: Peter Zumthor Reconsiders LACMA is part of Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A. This collaboration, initiated by the Getty, brings together seventeen cultural institutions from April through July for a wide-ranging look at the postwar built environment of the city as a whole, from its famous residential architecture to its vast freeway network, revealing the city’s development and ongoing impact in new ways. Learn more.
The Presence of the Past: Peter Zumthor Reconsiders LACMA is organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and major support for the exhibition has been provided by the Getty Foundation and Hyundai Motor America. This exhibition was also made possible in part by LACMA’s Wallis Annenberg Director’s Endowment Fund. 
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Images: William L. Pereira and Associates (United States, 1958–1988). Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1965. Photos © Museum Associates/LACMA, photographic archives.
The Director’s Series: Michael Govan and Peter Zumthor
On June 3rd, 2012, architect Peter Zumthor took part in a public conversation with director Michael Govan.
Michael Govan on Reconsidering LACMA with Peter Zumthor
This week may turn out to be a historic moment for LACMA and Los Angeles County if indeed we proceed with the new museum plan that we have sketched out with Pritzker Prize-winning architect Peter Zumthor, and that we are exhibiting in The Presence of the Past: Peter Zumthor Reconsiders LACMA—opening to members on Thursday and to the public on Sunday, and presented under the auspices of the Getty’s Pacific Standard Time Presents series of architecture exhibitions. To complement the other, more historical shows that are part of that initiative, ours is a glimpse of a potential future for architecture in Los Angeles.
