Griffith Observatory Renovation and Expansion Los Angeles, California Share: Griffith Observatory has long been one of Los Angeles’ most visible and beloved landmarks, hosting over 70 million visitors since opening its doors in 1935. However, after decades of heavy use, the building was badly in need of repairs and upgrades – both to its physical facilities as well as its exhibits. Working within the criteria of preserving the building’s appearance from the exterior, including retaining its expansive front lawn, our approach involved placing over 40,000 square feet of new exhibition space below grade, entirely removing and rebuilding the lawn to its original specifications. The only new elements visible on the building’s western exterior are a café and the Gottlieb Transit Corridor, an accurate astronomical instrument that tracks the transit of the sun along the terrestrial and celestial meridians throughout the year. Project Data Complete 27,300 sf existing; 39,600 sf addition Program & Highlights 202-seat lecture hall 298-seat planetarium Multilevel exhibit hall Offices Classrooms Café Gift shop An Historic-Cultural Monument Recognition 2008 AIA Institute, Honors Award 2007 National Trust for Historic Preservation, National Preservation Honor Award 2007 California Preservation Foundation, Trustee’s Award for Excellence in Preservation 2007 California Preservation Foundation, Design Award, Preservation 2007 California Preservation Foundation, Design Award, Rehabilitation - Large 2007 AIA/LA Design Awards, Citation 2007 Los Angeles Conservancy, Preservation Award 2007 Building Design + Construction Reconstruction Gold Award 2007 Los Angeles Business Council, LA Architectural Award Grand Prize 2007 Hollywood Arts Council, Preservation Award 2007 Society for Environmental Graphic Design, Jury Award for Exhibit Design 2007 AIGA Award for Exhibit Design 2006 Los Feliz Improvement Association, Meliora Award for Besst Public Space 2001 Westside Urban Forum, Westside Prize Ingrid Spencer,"Honor Awards: Architecture, Griffith Observatory," Architectural Record, May, 2008 Eve Kahn, "Shining Star," Traditional Building, August 2007 Suzanne Stephens, "Not Only a Craft," Architectural Record, June 2007 Russell Fortmeyer, "Griffith Observatory", "The cosmic ballet of the Griffith Observatory," Architectural Record, June 2007 Nick Street, "Jews in Space," The Jewish Journal, November 3-9, 2006 Edward Rothstein, "A Human-Centered Cosmos in Domes to the Stars," The New York Times, November 2, 2006 Christopher Hawthorne, "An icon's hidden virtues," Los Angeles Times, November 2, 2006 Jesse Katz & Felipe Dupouv, "Eye on the Sky," Los Angeles Magazine, November 2006 "Reabren el Observatorio Griffith," La Opinion, October 4, 2006 Loreta Hall, Underground Building: More than Meets the Eye, Sanger, CA: Quill Driver Books, 2004 “It was a world-class facility when it opened in 1935—it now is again in the 21st century.” —Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Collaborators Associate Architect: Levin & Associates Architects Civil Engineer: Psomas and Associates Structural Engineer: Miyamoto International, Inc. MEP: M-E Engineers, Inc. Theater/Planetarium/AV: Auerbach & Associates Acoustics: McKay Conant Brook, Inc. Exhibits: C & G Partners LLC General Contractor: S. J. Amoroso Landscape Architect: Melendrez Design Partners Lighting: Horton-Lees Brogden Lighting Design, Inc. Photographer: Tim Griffith The rotunda with restored Hugo Ballin murals Excavation of the Observatory lawn for the underground expansion Related Links Los Angeles Central Library Historic Renovation & Tom Bradley Wing Stanford University Renovation of Historic Quad Buildings California Institute of Technology South Houses Rehabilitation Atascadero City Hall Repair & Rehabilitation