Art Center drops architect Siza

Art Center College of Design has canceled a collaboration with the Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza, who was hired to work on a major expansion of the campus overlooking the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

“The long-distance collaboration was difficult, and in this situation, it was even more complicated,” said Richard Koshalek, president of Art Center. “The communication and the flexibility required was hard to obtain.”

Siza, 70, the 1992 Pritzker Prize-winning architect, was collaborating with Gehry Partners on a $100-million master plan for Art Center to include a new library and a technical-skills building near the existing main building -- a black steel and glass structure designed by Craig Ellwood Associates. Art Center plans to go ahead with the expansion, Koshalek said.

The decision was made after three years of working with Siza, Koshalek said, and was not based on financial concerns.

When reached in Portugal, Siza said he had just received a letter to announce the termination of the collaboration, adding that he had consistently tried to accommodate Art Center. “And now comes this decision with an explanation I don’t understand,” he said. “But I don’t mind. At least I don’t have to make the long trips.”

-- Louise Roug