Yesterday I lounged around for most of the day, but I convinced my roommate to go to the Getty Center with me in the evening, which meant I didn't have to take three buses to get there by myself!
To be honest, I wasn't quite sure what the Getty Center was... I just knew that Richard Meier had designed it. Turns out its this huge art museum/office/garden on the side of the mountain. When you first arrive, you park in an underground parking garage and then take a tram to the actual Getty Center. It's about a 3-5 minute ascent up, with the view of the 405 on one side and the mountains on the other.
When I stepped out of the tram, I was amazed by the architecture. The majority of the complex is made of a stone called travertine which gives this great texture and quality. Sadly, it was a cloudy/misty day (as most of my days off have been lately) so I couldn't get any clear views of the city. My roommate and I walked all around the complex and discussed the architecture together. Meier put a lot of thought into this project which is evident in the way he frames views or plays with scale and texture. The museum itself consists of several pavilions with an exterior courtyard in the center. I wasn't too impressed by the artwork, but it's probably because I was more interested in the architecture itself. One criticism that I've heard and agree with to an extent is that it does feel a bit corporate in some areas, but overall, I loved it. I need to return when it's a sunny day to experience the natural light.
P.S. Blogger is awful for layouts. I just fought with the pictures for 30 minutes and this is the best result I got.
awesome!!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe it has been so cloudy during your weekends there. FYI The Getty Center is really like a small city it was close to $1Billion in construction and took about 10+years to design and build. A colleague from SCI-Arc who graduated a year before me set up the model shop for the Getty center (his name is Michael Gruber he is a senior associate at Meier's office now). His models are incredible you can see them in NYC at Meier's space for all the models. They also build partial full scale etc (seehttp://la.curbed.com/archives/2010/05/richard_meiers_many_little_getty_centers_on_display_in_new_york.php)
ReplyDeleteAlso this was BEFORE and laser cutting and CNC!!
What I love about the Getty Center is going into one pavilion seeing the exhibit and then going out side sitting by the garden walking around. One rarely has that experience in a museum. The gardens were designed by Robert Irwin (I had mentioned a book about his work in an earlier reply.
You HAVE to go the the Getty Museum in Malibu. You should be able to ride your bike there check their web site for times etc. It is free but they regulate traffic since it borders a very wealthy malibu neighborhood. Machado & silvetti did the renovation addition it was also a 10 year project. The beautiful bronze interior stair you have to see. It was $1million for just the stair.I won't mention much about the place --but you will be surprised once you are there.
Obviously these 2 projects were at a different time from now. The stock market was soaring and the Getty as a non-profit had to spend their $$ to keep their non-profit status. Two great gifts to LA.
Both Getty's have concerts movies etc things at night try to go.
The weather has been awful lately. It's been cloudy and rainy like Boston.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had the opportunity to work on a model like that! Really want to visit his model warehouse too...
I'll definitely visit the Getty Villa when I get the chance. The pictures look beautiful. Hopefully it'll be a clear day.