The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) opened its new David Geffen Galleries, designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor in collaboration with SOM, for a summer preview before the building's official opening in April 2026. The 110,000-square-foot exhibition space, elevated on seven pavilions and made of concrete and glass, was opened to the public for three days with performances by 120 musicians. The preview also includes outdoor sculptures, commissioned artworks by Mariana Castillo Deball and Sarah Rosalena, and new dining and retail spaces.
This early preview, unusual for an art museum, elevates the building itself to a work of art, similar to the Jewish Museum Berlin's empty opening in 1999. After 16 years since Zumthor was hired and 12 years since his design was unveiled, the public finally gets to experience the Wilshire Boulevard-spanning structure. The open floor plan, which eliminates traditional departmental galleries, allows LACMA to shift curatorial emphases over time, reflecting a broader trend in museum design toward flexibility and the removal of cultural hierarchies.