LA's New $724M Art Beast: Zumthor's Galleries

0:00On April 16, Los Angeles just unveiled its latest architectural beast, the David Geffen galleries at the Lachma, a $724 million dollar concrete monster design by Swiss legend Peter Zamthor. This thing spans Wilshire Boulevard, like a massive bridge, clocking in at 110,000 square feet elevated 9 meters high. After two decades of planning, delays, and ballooning costs on a tricky tar swamp side in earthquake country, it finally opens this weekend. Director Michael Goven dreamed this up back in 2006, inspired by his Guggenheim days in a failed Zamthor project upstate. He skipped the usual design contest, handpicked the 82-year-old Pritzker winner, and pushed for one massive floor of open, transparent. Space all wrapped in concrete meant to last 500 years. Fun raised most of the cash, pulling in 125 million from LA County alone. What's her buzzing about the vibe inside? Moody galleries with dark walls, dim lights, and spots for single treasures like ancient

1:02robes under dramatic beams. Some rooms feel like cozy chapels, others echo rusty steel, with panoramic views and shimmering curtains filtering the sun. Critics call the entrance plaza, barren, like hanging under a freeway. But Goven envisions crowds and events livening it up, plus an air-wan grocery in. One support pillar for that LA luxury touch. Now the big question hits on the green side. This beast used twice the steel of the Eiffel Tower, sparking debates over its massive carbon footprint. Goven shrugs it off, betting on longevity over short-term eco-gilt, while the design nods to mid-century icons like John Lautner houses. As visitors climb those stairs or elevators into this elevated Arbilla, it'll redefine how LA museums flex exclusive, immersive, and unapologetically bold, drawing donors and crowds for years.