A+D Museum
A+D Museum, also known as Architecture and Design Museum, Los Angeles, is a museum for architecture and design in Los Angeles, California. It is located in Downtown Los Angeles Arts District at 900 E 4th Street.
History
A+D Museum was founded by Stephen Kanner and Bernard Zimmerman[1] in 2001.[2] Kanner was inspired by a similar museum he had visited in Helsinki, Finland.[2][3][4]
The A+D Museum first opened its doors in January 2001 in the Bradbury Building, located at 304 South Broadway (3rd Street and Broadway) in downtown Los Angeles; a space generously donated by Ira Yellin. When the Bradbury building was sold in 2003 the museum moved to a temporary location on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. In 2006 A+D Museum found a home on Museum Row in the Miracle Mile district at 5900 Wilshire Boulevard; across the street from LACMA. In April 2010, the museum moved down the street to 6032 Wilshire Boulevard.[2] Displaced by the extension of the Metro Purple Line, A+D Museum returned to Downtown Los Angeles to a warehouse-turned-museum in the Arts District in the Summer of 2015.
Mission
A+D Museum was created to celebrate and promote an awareness of architecture and design in everyday life through exhibits, educational programs, and public outreach to the design community as well as the public in the greater Los Angeles area.
Community
A+D Museum is an all inclusive information and education center for design, including architecture, interior design, landscape design, fashion design, product design, graphic design, and film/theater design. It is the only museum in Los Angeles where continuous exhibits of architecture and design are on view. Through exhibits, symposia, multi-disciplinary projects, educational and community programming, A+D serves as a showcase for the work of important regional, national and international designers, providing a forum for contemporary issues in architecture, urbanism, and design that are helping to shape the city.
A+D Museum is also home to the Stephen Kanner Education Center for Architecture and Design which partners with various organizations throughout Los Angeles to provide students with different opportunities for learning, growth and mentorship. This lively center serves as a venue for student work, special critiques, charrettes, lectures, movie screenings and ongoing education workshops, including A+D’s ARkidECTURE + design program. The showcase of ongoing design and architecture exhibitions by students and young designers facilitates growth in learning of all ages, from young practitioners to the public at large. Partnerships have included Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA), St. Elmo's Village, Craft and Folk Art Museum(CAFAM), Petersen Automotive Museum and BROODWORK.
Background
A+D Museum is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization funded by public donations, government and private foundation grants and corporate sponsors. A+D is a member of the American Alliance of Museums, the International Confederation of Architectural Museums and is recognized by design industry associations such as the American Institute of Architects/LA, the Industrial Designers Society of America/LA and the American Architectural Foundation.
Notable Exhibitions
Key exhibitions define the agenda of the museum and its contributions to the discourse of architecture. Some of the A+D notable exhibits include:
- NEVER BUILT: Los Angeles (07.28.13 - 10.27.13). An illustration of many major architectural designs that were planned for the city but were ultimately never built. The exhibition, which included models, sketches, and renderings from a number of architects including Lloyd Wright, Frank Gehry, and Jean Nouvel, offered insight into what might have been and challenged Los Angeles' status as a city that promotes architectural innovation.
- AFTER THE FLOOD: Building on Higher Ground (04.18.08 - 06.28.08) featuring an extended update of the exhibition from the US Pavilion at the 2006 Venice Biennale of Architecture curated by Christian Ditlev Bruun showcasing architectural responses to the August 2005 devastation in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. The update included a 2008 assessment of the rebuilding of New Orleans and the Pink Project by Brad Pitt and GRAFT for the Make It Right Foundation. On June 27, 2009 A+D hosted the US portion of the international symposia series Sustainable Dialogues bringing together architects, planners, and environmentalists from Asia, Latin America, and the United States.
- 34 LOS ANGELES ARCHITECTS (11.18.04 – 02.22.05) illustrating the spirit and enterprise of 30 LA Architects and their impact on Los Angeles.
- PUBLIC WORKS: Architectural Designs for the City of Los Angeles (07.15.04 – 09.09.04). Designs for the City of Los Angeles by Los Angeles-based architects. The range of projects reflected the scope of the public investment in the development and improvement of the City.
- RICHARD NEUTRA: VDL Research House ll (07.15.04 – 09.09.04).
- RAY KAPPE: A Retrospective (11.13.03 – 02.06.04). First major retrospective of influential architect/educator Ray Kappe, founder of the Southern California Institute of Architecture/SCI arc. 50+ years of work in drawings, models, and large format photography by Marvin Rand and Julius Shulman. The A+D Museum produced a Kappe monograph for this exhibit.
- EDWARD TUFTE: Escaping Flatland (11.7.02 – 02.13.03). Escaping Flatland was the first West Coast exhibition showcasing the work of information designer Edward Tufte.
- L.A. NOW: Shaping a New Vision for Downtown Los Angeles (09.26.02 – 11.30.02). Re-thinking the city and plans for its future in the 21st century.
References
- ↑ http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/090706Zimmerman.asp
- 1 2 3 Nelson, Valerie J. (2010-07-07). "Stephen Kanner dies at 54; architect co-founded L.A.'s Architecture and Design Museum". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-07-21.
- ↑ Design Museum, Helsinki
- ↑ Museum of Finnish Architecture
Coordinates: 34°03′46″N 118°21′38″W / 34.06266°N 118.3605°W