Peter Zumthor lightens and shortens LACMA design

Peter Zumthor‘s office has released new renderings of its new building for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). In this latest update, the building’s amorphous “canopy” level still sprawls across Wilshire Boulevard, and several pavilions still connect the upper level to the plaza, but now those pavilions are shorter and do not rise above the upper level.

Rendering of a concrete building with a plaza in front of it — The building’s continuous upper level is still connected to the plaza via several pavilions and an external stair. (Peter Zumthor/The Boundary)

The building’s material also appears to have been toned down; previous renderings showed striations on the pavilions’ exterior, but now all facades seem to be blank concrete.

Rendering of a street with a concrete building over it — The building still runs over Wilshire Boulevard. (Peter Zumthor/The Boundary)

The building’s color has come a long way since the building was conceived as a kind of oil slick, referencing the local tar pits. Originally, the building was a sort of black blob, but over the past couple of years, that color seems to have been phased out. The sprawling elevated floor has remained throughout the project’s development.