The Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s new David Geffen Galleries introduce a significant shift in museum planning, bringing the institution’s permanent collection into one elevated, continuous gallery level above Wilshire Boulevard.
Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Peter Zumthor, the building extends nearly 900 feet across the site and is supported by a series of pavilions below. Its single-floor configuration removes the traditional sequence of floors, wings and fixed routes, allowing artworks from different cultures and periods to be presented in closer dialogue.
For museum leaders, exhibition designers and cultural estate teams, the project offers a clear example of how architecture can support curatorial change. The building moves away from strict chronological or geographic ordering, giving LACMA greater flexibility in how it presents a global collection.
Buro Happold’s engineering role was central to making this approach possible. Its multidisciplinary team worked across mechanical, electrical, public health, lighting and sustainability systems to support a building that needed to be structurally ambitious, environmentally controlled and operationally adaptable.
Engineering For Curatorial Flexibility
The David Geffen Galleries are designed as a connected environment rather than a conventional series of enclosed rooms. This creates opportunities for flexible exhibition planning, but it also requires building systems that can respond to varied conservation, lighting and comfort needs.
Different gallery zones have been planned with different environmental requirements. Perimeter areas, which benefit from daylight and city views, operate within more flexible conditions. Interior galleries provide tighter temperature, humidity and lighting control for sensitive works.
This zoning strategy is significant for the wider museum sector. It shows how conservation standards can be balanced with energy performance, visitor comfort and spatial openness. Instead of applying the same environmental criteria across every gallery, the building allocates performance levels according to curatorial need.
Heating and cooling are provided mainly through radiant slabs and ceilings, reducing dependence on conventional air distribution. Conditioned air is introduced through architectural openings, moving from the centre of the plan towards the outer galleries. The approach allows the engineering systems to remain largely discreet while supporting the gallery conditions required for different collections.
Light, Comfort And Sustainability At Scale
The building’s extensive glazing creates strong visual links between the galleries and Los Angeles, but it also brings conservation challenges. Daylight is managed through perimeter glazing and custom textile shading, allowing natural light to be used carefully without placing sensitive works at risk.
Sustainability has been treated as a core operational requirement. Museums are energy-intensive assets, particularly where collections require strict environmental control. At LACMA, Buro Happold’s strategy combines radiant conditioning, low-velocity air movement, efficient water use and material planning to reduce resource demand.
The project is targeting LEED Gold certification. Measures include captured rainwater for irrigation, cooling and non-potable use, reduced embodied carbon through low-carbon concrete, and simplified construction systems that support material efficiency.
For cultural clients, this demonstrates how sustainability goals can be aligned with curatorial ambition, rather than treated as a separate technical layer.
Public Space As Cultural Infrastructure
By lifting the main galleries, the project opens the ground level for education, retail, public areas, shaded plazas and gathering spaces. This creates a stronger civic role for the museum campus, with the building operating as both cultural venue and urban infrastructure.
For Experience UK’s network, the David Geffen Galleries provide a valuable case study in integrated museum design. The project connects architecture, engineering, conservation, sustainability and public access within one operational framework.
As museums seek to manage climate pressures, audience expectations and collection complexity, LACMA’s new building shows how major institutions can rethink the relationship between gallery design, city access and long-term performance.
