The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County‘s $75 million renovation and expansion project, NHM Commons, is to open in 2024.
NHM Commons, designed by Frederick Fisher & Partners with landscape design by Studio-MLA, will add 60,000 square feet of space to the museum in LA’s Exposition Park.
“As construction moves forward on the site’s beautiful and inviting new indoor and outdoor spaces, we have been building upon our strategic principle of being museums of, for and with LA and shaping an NHM Commons philosophy grounded in co-curation with fellow Angelenos,” said Lori Bettison-Varga, the museum’s president and director.
The project includes a new plaza for events that will serve as the museum’s ‘front porch’ for Exposition Park, a welcome centre, a 400-seat theatre for performances, talks and festivals, and a new cafe and retail space.
Sustainable gardens are also being created, and the museum is replacing its opaque exterior walls with a transparent glass façade, allowing the public to see inside.
The welcome centre, which will be free to the public, will house ‘Gnatalie’ – the first real skeletal mount of a long-neck dinosaur on the West Coast.
“With its unique green color and imposing size, the 70-foot-long Gnatalie will be a great source of wonder for visitors to NHM,” said Luis Chiappe, director and curator of the museum’s Dinosaur Institute.
NHM Commons
“I’m particularly excited knowing that this mount will live in a community space, which reflects the diverse backgrounds of the people involved in the collecting efforts.”
The Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC) include the Natural History Museum in Exposition Park, La Brea Tar Pits in Hancock Park, and the William S. Hart Museum in Newhall.
NHMLAC is currently reimagining and renovating the La Brea Tar Pits. “There is a lot of responsibility involved in this project,” Bettison-Varga told blooloop
“It is a fascinating science. I think we need more people to really appreciate it, and understand what it tells us.”
Images: NHMLAC
