Serving as Local Project Manager for Studio Pali Fekete Architects (SPF), the local executive architect working in collaboration with Renzo Piano Building Workshop, John Wyka led the first eighteen months of design on one of Los Angeles’ most ambitious cultural projects, carrying the work through the completion of Schematic Design.
The program called for the renovation of the landmarked 1939 Art Moderne May Company building at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue into a 280,000 sq. ft. world-class museum dedicated to all aspects of film: four Class A galleries, two screening theaters, offices, catering facilities, and a fifth-floor dining and event terrace with panoramic views of Los Angeles.
The project’s defining architectural gesture is the Geffen Theatre, a 1,000-seat world-premiere cinema enclosed within a freestanding spherical volume of concrete and glass, engineered for variable acoustics and live broadcast capability. The sphere sits in dramatic counterpoint to the horizontal discipline of the May Company building, its curved form announcing the museum’s presence at one of Los Angeles’ most prominent intersections. A second event space crowns the sphere beneath a glass dome, offering unobstructed views north to the mountains and is among the most sought-after event venues in the city.
The images shown reflect the schematic design developed during this period.
