The David Geffen Galleries, which will open on 19 April 2026 to members and on 4 May to the public, offer Los Angeles an entirely new way of experiencing the diverse collections of its premier art museum. Architect Peter Zumthor worked closely with museum director Michael Govan and executive architects SOM to create a sinuous sweep of concrete, wrapped in glass and elevated nine metres above the ground.
An auditorium, bookstore, education centre, restaurant, café and elevators are housed in the seven supporting blocks. That separation allows visitors to immerse themselves in art on a single floor that is naturally lit from every side. Within the void are 27 inner galleries, ranging in size from 15 to 300 sq m, containing anything from a single Qing Dynasty court robe to a dense array of classic paintings. Art and architecture conduct a dialogue in the context of sweeping views over the city and the La Brea tar pits.
An aerial view of the site, and the new addition’s organic form
(Image credit: Iwan Baan)
Explore LACMA’s new David Geffen Galleries
Zumthor is best-known for Vals Thermal Baths, two chapels and meticulously crafted European museums. The LACMA commission was his first in the US, and it gave him the chance to work on a heroic scale and with a brutalist architecture aesthetic. Some of the details in the original design were sacrificed, but plenty of distinctive elements remain. Tiny white shells are embedded in the black concrete terrazzo floor, reminding us that this area was once a seabed.
A new, silicon-based paint in tones of dark red, indigo and black coats the concrete walls of the enclosed galleries, which are lit from a narrow clerestory and Zumthor-designed wall brackets that cast a soft, even glow over light-sensitive exhibits. However, the glass walls are UV-protected, and sheer metallic gauze curtains of different densities, custom-designed by Reiko Sudo, allow fabrics and works on paper to be displayed within five meters of the glass.
(Image credit: (c) Museum Associates/LACMA)
The layout is a radical departure from the enfilade of white cubes in traditional art museums. That concept of artificially lit, neutral spaces is still the default setting – and it’s a recipe for fatigue. As Govan observes, it’s time to experiment. Zumthor’s building replaces an ageing, dysfunctional complex of pavilions grouped around a courtyard, begun in the 1960s as an insubstantial variant on New York’s Lincoln Center. Later additions include Bruce Goff’s idiosyncratic Japanese Pavilion to the east and Renzo Piano’s two skylit pavilions for temporary exhibitions to the west.
The new galleries provide a unified platform for constantly changing, interdisciplinary installations drawn from LACMA’s encyclopedic collection. No two galleries are alike, and there’s a constant shift of space, light levels and vistas, inwards and outwards. The irregular plan allows visitors to wander freely and make their own discoveries. Serendipity replaces regimentation in this expansive cabinet of curiosities.
(Image credit: Iwan Baan)
(Image credit: Iwan Baan)
The Covid shutdown of 2020 gave the 45 LACMA curators extra time to devise new strategies of display. Unable to travel, they began talking to each other about joint projects and came up with 300 proposals, which were whittled down to 80 for the initial presentation. Junior curators suggested oceans and their role in linking cultures as an organising theme. It was an opportunity for fresh thinking that rarely occurs in the museum world. As curator Nancy Thomas recalls, ‘Each of us had stories to tell and knew the strengths of our collections.’ Leah Lembeck, curator of European paintings and sculpture, noted the importance of listening and reconciling different visions. And Britt Salvesen, the curator of works on paper, delighted in the opportunity of ‘bringing photography into the light of day’.
(Image credit: Iwan Baan)
(Image credit: Iwan Baan)
Nothing better captures the collaborative nature of these installations than the table-top display of ceramic bowls from different cultures and eras, which drew on the holdings of eight different departments. A newly commissioned sphinx complements a display of Egyptian antiquities, and contemporary artworks hang beside historic treasures. A few key pieces stand alone. A ceramic panel by Henri Matisse occupies the tip of a wing, framed by views of nature and neighbouring buildings. You can admire it from one of Zumthor’s leather benches and glimpse it through the glass at night.
In contrast, the Ardabil carpet, a Persian masterpiece of 1520, is shielded from direct light to protect its vivid colours and spare it the fate of its faded twin in London’s V&A Museum. There are constant surprises. A few steps take you from Hokusai prints to California car culture, exemplified in the Studebaker Avanti that Raymond Loewy customised for his own use.
(Image credit: (c) Museum Associates/LACMA)
There’s a refreshing lack of barriers, but vulnerable objects are displayed in Zumthor’s elegant, climate-controlled vitrines. The whole 275m-long building is mounted on base isolators, making this one of the safest places to be when LA experiences the long-awaited ‘big one’, and every exhibit is secured against seismic shocks. And the sense of openness is equally welcoming outside. The building offers shade on a hot day and frames views of the Japanese Pavilion and the bold geometry of Piano’s galleries to either side. The footprint of scored concrete was designed by artist Mariana Castillo Deball, with witty touches that include imprints of birds’ feet leading out of the restaurant. Major sculptures in the orbit of the galleries include Tony Smith’s Smoke, a monumental cat’s cradle.
(Image credit: (c) Museum Associates/LACMA)
LACMA, located halfway between downtown and the ocean, is already a popular gathering place, and it should become more of a magnet when the latest subway station opens across the street in early May 2026. Zumthor’s building will continue to stir debate, but it’s likely to enjoy broad appeal, and it could serve as an alternative model for museums that are fixated on growth.
