Location: Vahakni district, Yerevan, Armenia
Year of Implementation: 2016-2018
Surface: 400.0 sqm
Location: Vahakni district, Yerevan, Armenia
Year of Implementation: 2016-2018
Surface: 400.0 sqm
New renderings have been revealed of the Renzo Piano Building Workshop-designed Academy of Motion Pictures as the project races toward its 2019 completion date. Located along LA’s Miracle Mile, the museum is striving to become “the world’s premier institution dedicated to the art and science of movies.”

Partnering with Gensler, Piano’s design consists of the renovation of and addition to the Moderne-style May Company department store located at the corner of Fairfax and Wilshire. To be renamed the Saban Building, the six-story structure will contain more than 50,000 square feet of exhibition space, a high-tech education studio, a 288-seat theater, a museum store, a restaurant, cafe and a variety of public and event spaces.
The project’s signature element, however, is the new giant glass sphere that will house the 1,000-seat David Geffen Theater, which will be capable of hosting a range of performances, screenings and premiers.
Surprisingly, the institution will be LA’s first museum dedicated to motion pictures. Three-quarters of the $388 million fundraising goal has now been reached, with completion anticipated for 2019.
See all the new images in the gallery below, and learn more about the project, here.
In 1967, Moshe Safdie reimagined the monolithic apartment building, creating “Habitat ’67,” which gave each unit an unprecedented sense of openness. Nearly 50 years later, he believes the need for this type of building is greater than ever. In this short talk, Safdie surveys a range of projects that do away with the high-rise and let light permeate into densely-packed cities.