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Unique design elements, beautiful gardens, and open spaces. Richard Meier's Getty Center harmoniously unites the parts of the J. Paul Getty Trust, and makes them accessible not only to Los Angeles but to the world.
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The Site
The Getty Center sits on a hilltop in the Santa Monica Mountains, just off the San Diego Freeway. From there, visitors can take in the disparate aspects of Los Angeles's landscape—the Pacific Ocean, the San Gabriel Mountains, and the vast street-grid of the city. Inspired by the relationship between these elements, architect Richard Meier designed the complex to highlight both nature and culture.
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When approached from the south, the modernist complex appears to grow from the 110-acre hillside. Two computer-operated trams elevate visitors from a street-level parking facility to the top of the hill. Clad in cleft-cut Italian travertine, the campus is organized around a central arrival plaza, and offers framed panoramic views of the city. Curvilinear design elements and natural gardens soften the grid created by the travertine squares.
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Meier positioned the buildings along a natural ridge in the hilltop. Galleries, offices, and the auditorium lead out to courtyards and terraces; all offices receive natural light. Because neighbors requested that the complex be no more than two stories above grade, all of the buildings extend underground and are linked with subterranean corridors that facilitate the moving of artwork and other materials.
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Travertine
The stone—1.2 million square feet of it—is one of the most remarkable elements of the complex. This beige-colored, cleft-cut, textured, fossilized travertine catches the bright Southern California light, reflecting sharply during morning hours, and emitting a honeyed warmth in the afternoon.
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Meier chose stone for this project because it is often associated with public architecture and expresses qualities the Getty Center celebrates: permanence, solidity, simplicity, warmth, and craftsmanship.
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The 16,000 tons of travertine are from Bagni di Tivoli, Italy, 15 miles east of Rome. Many of the stones revealed fossilized leaves, feathers, and branches when they were split along their natural grain. Meier and his staff worked for a year with the quarries to invent a process using a guillotine to produce the unique finish.
Natural Light
Natural light is one of the Getty Center's most important architectural elements. The many exterior walls of glass allow sunshine to illuminate the interiors. A computer-assisted system of louvers and shades adjusts the light indoors. The paintings galleries on the Museum's upper level are all naturally lit, with special filters to prevent damage to the artworks.
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Galleries, Libraries, Offices, and Gardens
In the Museum, clear sight lines between interior and exterior spaces allow visitors to move in and out of the five gallery pavilions and always know where they are. Exterior courtyard spaces include fountains and a variety of trees, including Mexican Cypress trees, as well as the cactus garden to the south.
A circular building to the west of the Central Garden houses the Getty Research Institute (GRI), used primarily by Getty scholars, staff, and visiting researchers. The circular library evokes the introspective nature of scholarly research, with book stacks and reading areas wrapping around a central courtyard. A ramp creates concentric paths, promoting interaction among the scholars and staff. A skylight pulls light through to the subterranean reading room. At the plaza level, a small exhibition gallery displays objects in the GRI's collection for visitors.
Two buildings to the north and east of the Arrival Plaza house the Getty Foundation, the Getty Conservation Institute, and the J. Paul Getty Trust administration offices. Intimate sunken gardens, terraces, glass walls, and open floor plans provide fluid movement between indoor and outdoor space, and views of Los Angeles for Getty staff.
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Please visit Public Programs to find out about Getty Center architecture tours.
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A Roman Villa Recreated
The Getty Villa is modeled after a first-century Roman country house, the Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum, Italy.
The J. Paul Getty Museum building was constructed in the early 1970s by the architectural firm of Langdon and Wilson. Architectural consultant Norman Neuerburg worked closely with J. Paul Getty to develop the interior and exterior details.
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The Villa dei Papiri was buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79, and much of it remains unexcavated. Therefore, Neuerburg based many of the Museum's architectural and landscaping details on elements from other ancient Roman houses in the towns of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae—from bronze lanterns like those carried along the streets of Pompeii to herbs and shrubs grown by the Romans for food and ceremony.
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The Getty Villa Reimagined
Boston-based architects Rodolfo Machado and Jorge Silvetti began renovating the Getty Villa site in 1997.
Visitors now start their visit in a spectacular open-air Entry Pavilion, then progress along a scenic pathway to the heart of the site, the Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman Theater.
This 450-seat outdoor classical theater, based on ancient prototypes, links the new Cafe, Museum Store, and Auditorium to the J. Paul Getty Museum entrance.
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Machado and Silvetti created modern designs that harmonize with the Getty Villa's original style. Wood, bronze, glass, travertine, and wood-formed concrete echo the Villa's materials.
To preserve the lush setting, Machado and Silvetti placed the Auditorium underground and nestled part of the Cafe, Museum Store, and new parking structure for visitors into the terraced hillside.
With each building at a slightly different elevation, visitors experience the site as an archaeological excavation, every perspective offering new discoveries.
Machado and Silvetti also created a new main entrance to the Museum through the Atrium, the traditional entryway to a typical Roman home.
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Inside the Museum are new and renovated terrazzo floors and other interior details inspired by both Roman and modern models. New skylights and windows onto the Atrium and Inner Peristyle fill the galleries with natural light.
A grand marble staircase connects the two floors of the Museum building, leading visitors to the changing exhibition galleries on Floor 2.
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North Campus
North of the Museum is the Ranch House, the location of the original J. Paul Getty Museum. It has been renovated to house antiquities curatorial offices, meeting rooms, and the 20,000-volume Research Library. The UCLA/Getty Master's Program on the Conservation of Ethnographic and Archaeological Materials, the first program of its kind in the United States, is also located in the North Campus.
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Offices, conservation labs, and classrooms around the adjacent courtyard provide a gathering spot for conservators, students, and scholars participating in the Villa Scholars' Program. The Scholars' Program has an annual theme that serves as a focus for research and programs. A distinguished figure in the field is honored as Villa Professor each year and collaborates with Getty staff responsible for the intellectual direction of the program.
Please visit Public Programs to find out about Getty Villa architecture and gardens tours.
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