Loyola Marymount Opens $7.5-Million Arts Center

The new $7.5-million Fritz Burns Fine Arts Center at Loyola Marymount University combines four buildings and three exterior spaces in a way that brings students from different disciplines together, according to Peter Clothier, dean of the university’s College of Fine and Communication Arts.

Designed by Albert C. Martin & Associates, the center includes two loft buildings with exposed steel frames and stucco exteriors: Hogan Hall, housing administration, dance and visual arts classrooms, and Leavey Hall, for visual arts and music activities.

Fronting these buildings are the 212-seat Murphy Recital Hall and the Laband Art Gallery, featuring brick walls and “more refined finishes,” according to David Martin of the Martin firm.

“The center is sited at the strategic entry of the campus’ central mall and re-establishes the mall edge,” Martin said. “It also recalls the quadrangle plan of some of the early campus buildings with entries on all sides, thereby opening it to the campus paths.”

Although the buildings are separate, they are united by balconies, stairways and walkways. The project was aided by a $2-million contribution from the Burns Foundation. Fritz Burns was a nationally prominent Los Angeles-based builder and land developer.