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LOS ANGELES – On a clear December morning, Los Angeles’ biggest hits shine through the roof. Audrey Irmas Mansion: You can see the Hollywood sign, the Griffith Park Observatory, or even a snowy Mount Baldy without blinking.
The pavilion, a futuristic, three-story trapezoidal structure with a wood-panelled event center, sunken garden and rooftop terrace in the center of the city, will serve Koreatown, one of the city’s busiest and most diverse neighborhoods.
First, however, it is a community space for communities. Wilshire Boulevard Temple, the Byzantine-Romanesque domed synagogue next to the pavilion – the final piece of the temple’s long expansion plan.
The temple’s dome is modeled after Rome’s Pantheon. crowning shelterThe 1929 production was backed by heavyweights like the Warner brothers, Universal Pictures founder Carl Laemmle, and MGM co-founder Louis B. Mayer. murals by artist Hugo Ballin, coffered ceilings, an idyllic oculus, and stained glass windows.
But in the 2000s, as the congregation dwindled and the grounds deteriorated, some temple leaders and members felt it might make sense to sell the building.
The temple’s senior rabbi, Steven Leder, spent six years raising $120 million. Until 2011, there were renovation plans for the temple from the architect. Brenda Levinand two years later, the oldest glass studio in Los Angeles, judsonhad restored the temple’s neo-Gothic windows, the sculptor Lita Albuquerque had designed a memorial wall and artist Jenny Holzer had made a series of benches.
Later, the pavilion was in an adjacent parking lot that belonged to the temple, but Rabbi Leder needed the right architect: a modernist who respected tradition.
enter benevolent Wide Handsreshaping this city’s cultural footprint and He left his future in question after his death last year.
Billionaire developer Broad, who has spent decades raising the profile of the city with his wife Edythe, met with Rabbi Leder a few years ago in 2015. retired. Rabbi Leder said: “I asked Eli: ‘Will one of the world’s greatest architects design a building for the synagogue?’ He looked at me and said, “For that bunker on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles?” said. They’re all going to want to do that.”
Thus the pavilion was born. designed by Metropolitan Art Office – Firm founded by Pritzker Prize Winner Rem Koolhaas – the project also paved the way for another donor, Wallis Annenberg, to realize his longstanding vision for the city: a center to help older people find community.
Conflicts with Broad in past years had cost Koolhaas two chances to work with the philanthropist: designing Broad, the downtown museum, and remodeling and expanding the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Broad, a trustee at LACMA, was initially sponsored A structure that Koolhaas proposed but later changed his mind about. went instead with Renzo Piano, what would effectively Spacious Museum of Contemporary Art at LACMA.
“We won the LACMA offer, but Eli fired Rem and hired Renzo,” Shohei Shigematsu, Koolhaas’ longtime OMA partner, said in an interview.
Koolhaas, 77, is known for his theories and work celebrating urban chaos. Like the China Central Television headquarters in Beijinga skyscraper that some consider glorifying a Chinese propaganda machine, but a New York Times critic called “One of the most seductive and powerful works I’ve ever seen looking at architecture in my life.” artist and architect Hiroshi Sugimoto recently described Koolhaas’ approach as full of “malicious intent.”
But Koolhaas said in an interview that his aim was no longer provocation. “Maybe 20 years ago,” he said.
“It feels a little out of place now,” he added, given that there are so many pressing issues to consider.
Koolhaas calls Los Angeles a favorite city – he lived here at the time of writing the screenplay in 1974. Regarding his rejected design, he said, “The LACMA is perhaps something that’s really underappreciated.”
Joe Day, “Koolhaas has often fallen prey to having a compelling idea, and the world or his patrons are struggling to keep up,” said a designer and architectural theorist in Los Angeles.
Broad had other disagreements, including with the architect. Frank Gehry refusing to finish A remodel of Broad’s house. (Years later, Broad supported Gehry’s design. Disney Lounge.)
For the pavilion, in 2015 Broad recommended holding an international competition for which he paid the bill.
For this, a panel of 15 people was gathered. competition and four of the 25 firms Broad paid $100,000 each.
Then OMA was chosen. Temple then received a $30 million pledge from the philanthropist. Audrey Irmas, later $70.5 million in sales Cy Twombly from the “blackboard” painting and Rabbi Leder continued to fundraise.
“It was a strange event,” said Shigematsu, now 48 years old.
Recalling the failures that started the contest, he said, “To be invited and selected by Eli for the temple contest. We were surprised.”
Koolhaas for the temple described his interactions with Broad as cordial and his support as “extremely important.” But when the firm’s project was announced, the temple’s congregation worried that Koolhaas’ style would diminish the traditional domed building.
Six years later, the pavilion, with a total cost of $95 million, is warm and lively, with 1,230 hexagonal glass fiber reinforced concrete panels that give it a kaleidoscope effect. But perhaps most interesting to some is that the Broad-Koolhaas collaboration does not include a Koolhaas building.
“Many people are confused,” Shigematsu said. “OMA is in a moment of transition. It used to be Rem as the leader but now it’s a partnership. I am the design leader here. Unfortunately most people write that it is Rem’s building.”
“In this case, it wasn’t really involved,” Shigematsu added. He “designed the mezzanine” in the pavilion’s doorframes and “was a way to show that we could collaborate in partnership – and the temple was quite happy.”
“I was involved in the event from afar,” said Koolhaas, who could not leave Europe for a long time due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.
“The obsession with architecture as a work of a single genius – I think it’s completely misplaced,” he added.
Doug Suisman”Los Angeles Boulevard”, calling the result of the collaboration “a generation shift within OMA from the cheerful aggression of Rem Koolhaas to the almost thoughtful calmness of Shohei Shigematsu.”
Koolhaas said: “My partners have a great deal of independence and in a way I have a great deal of independence now. It’s a pretty intense effort to get your vision into every project.”
In 2018, OMA’s pavilion design was leaked, and philanthropist Wallis Annenberg read about the temple project and its architects, location, and leadership while scrolling through his article. “Bull look,” he said.
For years, “What if I was alone without a support system?” He said he was wondering.
“Even at a young age, I noticed old people on their own in restaurants, theaters, parks, and it broke my heart,” he said, referring to the psychologist. Erik Eriksonconcept of development extending into old age. “Why don’t we make these people part of a community?”
Annenberg contributed $15 million to complete the pavilion and another $3 million to the 7,000-square-foot creative center on the third floor. GenSpace. It is a cultural space for older adults.
“Lectures, movies, experiences – that’s what makes it different and what seniors want,” said Executive Director Lila Guirguis. Karsh Center, a non-profit organization founded by the temple For underserved people of all ages who partner with GenSpace.
Membership is $10 per month on a sliding scale, and classes are already offered online. (The spread of the Omicron variant delayed GenSpace’s hard launch.) The center feels like a start-up with its interior design by the firm. Stadler &interactive art by the Japanese collective teamLab, and Maira Kalman wallpaper, exercise studio and roof terrace.
Annenberg, 82, is the head and head of her family. basisHe has donated over $1 billion to nearly 3,800 nonprofits since taking the lead in 2009.
“But,” he added, “I slowed down a lot; I’m having massive mobility issues. I think the pandemic has taught us all how critical connectivity is.”
Annenberg’s grandfather, Moses, came to America in 1885 and built a publishing empire. His father, Walter, founded the foundation that helps with countless educational, arts, medical and environmental projects.
Wallis, a Vanity Fair the interview jokingly reminded people that his name was not Wallet, he was an heir, but that his life was not carefree: his brother Roger committed suicide; Her marriage collapsed and she lost custody of her children for a time.
Today, 27 institutions in the Los Angeles area bear his name (and many more bear his family name). He sees GenSpace as “a role model that people should follow.”
Longevity and aged care are growing issues. More than 7,000 Californians turn 65 each week, according to the state’s latest data. master plan on aging, and the state has the second-highest life expectancy in the nation. GenSpace’s director Jennifer WongOne of the masterplan’s co-authors, he said, is expecting conversations at the center that cut across ethnic and generational lines. The Center also has a mission to combat the prejudice and isolation that the elderly may face.
As for Annenberg, she sees it as part of her legacy – her job that will continue after she’s gone. “I won’t be here forever,” he said.
“Older Americans are not in the past,” he added. “They will come. We must open our eyes.”
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