David Zwirner Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
Selldorf Architects designed David Zwirner’s flagship location in the Melrose Hill neighborhood of Los Angeles. This 30,000 sf art complex spans three adjacent buildings: a ground-up new building and two renovated structures, all seamlessly unified by white stucco facades. The design offers flexible gallery spaces for both small and large exhibitions with capacity to host multiple shows simultaneously. The interior spaces feature skylights that fill the galleries with controlled natural light and outdoor areas, designed by Elysian Landscapes, provide greenery at ground level and on the roof terrace. For the project, Selldorf worked in collaboration with Architects of Record ERAS (612, 616 North Western Avenue) and Twinsteps (606 North Western Avenue).
The newly constructed three-story building at 606 North Western Avenue anchors the complex with 15,000 sf of primary exhibition space. Visitors are greeted by tall generous mahogany storefront doors equipped with sliding glass walls that retract, creating a wide and welcoming entrance allowing easy movement of large artworks. The main gallery space has 18’ high ceilings with concrete floors. Also included are private viewing rooms, staff areas and offices, and an outdoor terrace with views of the Hollywood sign. Linking the East and West Coast flagship locations, Selldorf designed a concrete staircase reminiscent of the distinctive stairway at David Zwirner’s 20th Street gallery in New York.
At 612 and 616 North Western Avenue, Selldorf renovated two existing one-story buildings from the 1930s. The building at 612 was transformed to include a large exhibition space with exposed wood bow trusses as well as smaller and more intimate spaces that foster diverse visitor engagements for contemporary artwork, such as video installations or other experiential pieces. Additionally, a retail space and dedicated bookshop highlighting David Zwirner Books are also part of this building’s program. The building at 616 includes an open gallery space, also with exposed wood bow trusses with a rear outdoor garden.
(Photography credits: Elon Schoenholz courtesy of David Zwirner)
