Architectural Drama at Last

Finally, the United States’ second-largest city has confidence. Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas’ design for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art will stand boldly against a sky that already showcases Richard Meier’s new Getty and two emerging landmarks: Frank Gehry’s audacious Disney Hall and Rafael Moneo’s downtown cathedral. Like or loathe these functional sculptures, together they mark the end of the region’s architectural timidity.

We happen to like the LACMA design. A lot.

Its soaring, translucent roof held aloft by arching steel will cover and give cohesion to well-lighted exhibition spaces up to three stories tall. It will boast sweeping staircases and views out to Wilshire Boulevard, the La Brea Tar Pits and the park.

Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff writes that the new LACMA, with its respectful nods to other architects, can be seen as “a critique of the entire history of the modern museum.” It will also stand apart from any other major museum in the United States by being readily adaptable to a spectrum of exhibits, from delicate 19th century Edgar Degas etchings to Richard Serra’s sprawling, spiraling, multi-ton contemporary metal sculptures.

Collections of American, Asian, European, Latin American and Modern and contemporary art will unfold in a series of axes radiating from a center. The design will house permanent collections on the third floor and temporary collections on the second floor next to theaters, shops, restaurants and spaces devoted to education and family programs.

The cost of the structure will be between $200 million and $300 million. Some critics, of course, are already grousing. Why tear down what appear to be perfectly safe and functional buildings? And in a recession? Why not buy art instead?

Hypercaution and compromise, however, are what left Los Angeles with a major museum housed in a mishmash of humdrum buildings. It is regrettable that so much time and money were wasted trying to adapt and rehab old buildings that were beyond artistic if not structural redemption. Now LACMA’s trustees have seen the light. But as they ohh and ahh at the design before them, and congratulate themselves on their newfound daring, they must also look back on the museum’s record of squandered money and opportunities as a cautionary tale.

Fortunately, politicians and philanthropists are already trumpeting support for the makeover. Think how much poorer civilization would be if instead of erecting the cathedral in Chartres or the Guggenheim in Bilbao, civic leaders and builders had listened to the pragmatists’ appeal for the functional but uninspiring? The people of Los Angeles have always been daring, eager to embrace change and--face it--prone to drama. If all goes well, before long they’ll have a city to match.