The total Getty experience

Monday, September 28, 1998

The total Getty experience

ART: Beauty of architecture, well-designed buildings lure
visitors to new L.A. museum

By Laura Noguera

Daily Bruin Staff

Perched on an edge overlooking Los Angeles, the John Paul Getty
Center attracts hordes to visit the facilities which house art and
literature collections, lecture halls and an auditorium. However,
there is an attraction at the Getty that people do not even need to
step inside to appreciate.

Sitting on a 24-acre campus with the 405 freeway on one side and
a mountain ridge on the other, the center’s innovative architecture
is an enticement alone.

"I’ve never worked on a building like this before," says John
Farrell, a participating architect in the Getty’s design with
Richard Meier and Partners. "In the U.S. at least, it’s the only
one like it."

Richard Meier is the Center’s mastermind, chosen by the Getty
foundation mostly for his experience designing other museums in
Europe and the United States.

The designs are revolutionary, using technology that surpasses
other United States museums’ glamour. Those large protruding stone
walls not only draw eyes and attention to the striking appearance,
they are also functional during storms. No sealant materials are
used, allowing the rain to drain between the stone slabs to the
bottom.

Inside overhead windows allow natural light to illuminate the
museum spaces and hallways. To protect the paintings’ pigments, the
amount of light is controlled electronically with screens and
canopies.

"(The natural light) is one of the most striking things about
the museum spaces," Farrell says. "And they do not allow any direct
light to fall on the paintings."

Meier worked closely with the foundation to design a structure
representative of the institution. The Getty Foundation desired the
designs to materialize a reflection from society’s eyes.

"They wanted to consolidate all this stuff up on a hill,"
Farrell says. "It’s actually an image of the organization
itself."

The community and relating to Los Angeles is a great concern of
the Getty Foundation, and its blueprints reveal the connection the
center makes with its environment.

"A lot of the architecture opens up to landscape in respect to
views," says Richard Weinstein, UCLA professor of architecture and
urban design. "The gallery is arranged so you are constantly aware
of this view."

From the vistas visitors see Los Angeles as a vast land of
blocks. The Getty is a refreshing getaway, especially the gardens
whose exotic plants and running fountain welcome peace.

"I think one of the most successful (Getty designs) is the
courtyard museum," Weinstein says. "Every time I’ve been there its
been full of people sitting around talking, relaxing or reading a
book."

A grueling process to develop the Getty’s image found architects
and the foundation working overtime, debating every detail to reach
near perfect designs.

"They spent a lot of time just picking the right stone," Farrell
says.

The Getty’s image is preserved in its buildings, but also
finding preservation is Meier’s architectural touch, whose
signature style is accented within the Getty’s walls. Meier plays
with spaces using curves and sharp angles which give each building
its own personality.

"There’s always this interplay between orthogonal rectilinear
and playfully expressed elements," Farrell says. "You have a
regular system that’s interrupted and emphasized by creating shapes
contrasting the grid background."

During every structure’s designing process, architects carefully
consider its purpose. Meier’s Getty designs make each building’s
intention visible in its appearance from the outside, following a
theme in which the rounder buildings tend to be the public places
while the more edgier and blunt buildings hold the organization’s
offices.

"As you enter the museum … to your right there’s a curved
shape that defines the orientation theater," Farrell says. "And to
your left, an angle defines the office spaces, which are not for
the public and is a more personal space."

Concerns for earthquake survival, prompted by the Northridge
earthquake required designers to analyze their art in a more
practical sense.

"The fault lines had to be dealt with," Farrell says. "The
Northridge earthquake stopped construction … we had to look at
designs from an engineering standpoint."

In the end, the Getty foundation and Meier were not the center’s
only influences. The Brentwood and Bel Air communities’ opinions on
the Getty’s appearance called for some compromises.

"The actual finish material was going to be stainless steel
panels instead of the beige ones," Farrell says. "The Brentwood
neighbors nixed that. They said it would be too glaring."

The Getty Center did not become a glaring, out of place
structure and it does not need to be to attract attention. Many
feel that crowds are larger than expected for good reason.

"The Getty Center represents an effort which takes the
humanities and arts extremely seriously," Weinstein says. "I don’t
think there’s a single institution in the world that has focused so
much energy and financial resources on what is essentially a
cultural endeavor."

Photos courtesy of J. Paul Getty Trust

The restaurant at the J. Paul Getty Museum exemplifies the
center’s unique architecture.

Photo courtesy of J. Paul Getty Trust

The John Paul Getty Center is the largest museum west of the
Mississippi.

Photo courtesy of J. Paul Getty Trust

The J. Paul Getty museum attracts many visitors because of its
beauty. Above is a night view from the East building looking
north.

Comments, feedback, problems?

© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]