The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures | RPBW - Renzo Piano Building Workshop

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will be the world’s premier institution devoted to exploring the art and science of movies and moviemaking.

Designed by Pritzker-Prize winning architect Renzo Piano with Renzo Piano Building Workshop and Gensler, the museum site will feature a major renovation and expansion to the 1939 Streamline Moderne May Company—now the Saban Building—on Wilshire and Fairfax in Los Angeles’s Miracle Mile neighborhood.

The historic Saban Building will be paired with a soaring new spherical addition to the north, with views of the Hollywood Hills. The building’s design has been inspired by the mission of the museum itself—to turn the dream factory inside out and give visitors an unprecedented opportunity to peer behind the screen and into the creative, collaborative world of moviemaking through the lens of those who make them.

PRINCIPAL DESIGN
The 300,000-square-foot Academy Museum will feature six stories of dynamic spaces, including more than 50,000 square feet of immersive permanent and temporary exhibition galleries, an education studio, two state-of-the-art theaters, as well as dynamic public and special event spaces that include a spectacular roof top terrace with sweeping views of the Hollywood Hills.

THEATERS
The new 1,000-seat Geffen Theater located in the sphere will become a center for all visitors and feature daily screenings, major film events including previews, openings and special presentations with the world’s leading filmmakers. A more intimate 288-seat theater will offer screenings ranging from Saturday morning matinees for children of all ages to a global cinema series. Both theaters will be home to an array of live performances, lectures, panels, and other events that will bring the most notable film artists of today to Los Angeles. Theaters will be equipped to present film with multidimensional sound experiences and superior screen quality.

MATERIALS
Saban Building: concrete; steel; steel-reinforced concrete; glass; gold leaf mosaic tile from the original manufacturer, Orsini, of Venice, Italy will be used to restore the iconic cylinder; limestone from Austin, Texas will be used to restore the historic building façade.
Spherical addition: concrete, precast, steel; steel-reinforced concrete; and specialty glass for its dome to be fabricated in Steyr, Austria by St Gobain.