Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
Architect: Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Gensler
Location: Los Angeles, California
Type: Museum
Year: 2021
Photographs: Iwan Baan
The following description is courtesy of the architects. Inviting the world into an unparalleled experience of the arts, sciences, artists, and social impact of moviemaking, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opened its doors to the public on Thursday, September 30, 2021, following a dedication ceremony attended by civic, cultural, and entertainment leaders and officers of the museum and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Located in Los Angeles, the world capital of moviemaking, the new museum is the largest in North America devoted to exploring films and film culture and is the only such museum in Los Angeles.
Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano and Renzo Piano Building Workshop in collaboration with Gensler as executive architect, the 300,000-square-foot Academy Museum at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue combines two contrasting structures: the renovated and expanded May Company building, a 1939 Streamline Moderne landmark now renamed the Saban Building in honor of benefactors Cheryl and Haim Saban, and a soaring new glass-and-concrete spherical building.
The 250,000-square-foot Saban Building houses the Fairfax Avenue entrance and Sidney Poitier Grand Lobby, the museum’s exhibition galleries, the 288-seat Ted Mann Theater, Shirley Temple Education Studio, Debbie Reynolds Conservation Studio, Fanny’s restaurant and café, and the Academy Museum Store. The 45,000-square-foot sphere building houses the 1,000-seat David Geffen Theater and the Dolby Family Terrace.
Visitors may access the Sphere Building from the Saban Building via the Casey Wasserman Bridge at mezzanine level which crosses over to the David Geffen Theater and the Barbra Streisand Bridge on the fifth floor which crosses over to the Dolby Family Terrace. Standing outside the northern entrance to the museum, at the base of the sphere, is The Walt Disney Company Piazza. The piazza is enlivened with landscaping designed by artist Robert Irwin and features dwarf southern magnolia trees and karo shrubs, California fan palms, vinca minor, Mexican fan palms, and jacaranda trees.
The Academy Museum’s building has been awarded LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
