The Broad Opens
John Hill
14. September 2015
Grand Avenue elevation with its "oculus" puncturing the "veil." (Photo: Iwan Baan, courtesy of The Broad and Diller Scofidio + Renfro)
The much-anticipated opening of The Broad, the museum designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro for Eli and Edythe Broad in downtown Los Angeles, takes place on September 20th.
Billionaire Eli Broad announced his intention to build a museum for the 2,000-strong art collection of him and his wife in 2008. Two years later New York architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro won an invited architectural competition with their "veil and vault" design; the veil refers to the GFRC panels that wrap the exterior walls and roof, and the vault is the solid, amorphous mass in the middle of the building where the permanent collection is stored. Visitors to the 120,000-square-foot, $140 million building will ascend via escalator or elevator through the vault (getting a glimpse through windows to the art storage in the process) to the raised, skylit galleries.
The September 20th opening is not the first time the museum was made accessible to the public. In February of this year the Broad opened its doors for a one-day, pop-up-style event, titled Sky-Lit, that showcased the top floor gallery space. Visitors to that event paid $10, but come September 20th admission to the museum will be free.
The Broad is located right across the street from Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall (2003) in downtown Los Angeles (Photo: Jeff Duran / Warren Air, courtesy of The Broad and Diller Scofidio + Renfro)
The Broad is located on the corner of Grand Avenue and 2nd Street (Photo: Iwan Baan, courtesy of The Broad and Diller Scofidio + Renfro)
The lobby is accessed at the corners where the veill is lifted. (Photo: Iwan Baan, courtesy of The Broad and Diller Scofidio + Renfro)
Escalator from the lobby to 3rd floor galleries (Photo: Iwan Baan, courtesy of The Broad and Diller Scofidio + Renfro)
The Broad's third floor galleries with skylights and interior veil (Photo: Iwan Baan, courtesy of The Broad and Diller Scofidio + Renfro)
Eli and Edythe Broad inside their namesake museum (Photo: Elizabeth Daniels, courtesy of The Broad)
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