Gehry Partners Designs New 'Entry Experience' at Getty Center
About a month after the Getty Center announced it would be closing next year for a major modernization of its nearly 30-year-old campus, the institution has revealed renderings of new and redesigned elements, including a tram station designed by Gehry Partners.
As announced in April, when the Getty Center closes for roughly a year starting on March 15, 2027, a number of improvements will be made to its buildings, public spaces, and utilities—the most significant series of improvements since it opened in 1997. But visitors will see changes even before they ascend to the Acropolis-like hilltop campus, as a new “entry experience” designed by Gehry Partners and OLIN, centered on a new tram station, will greet them as they arrive at the popular Los Angeles attraction via Interstate 405.
The renderings at top and below show an undulating canopy sheltering a stairway integrated with outdoor sculptures, contemporary art commissions, a garden café, and a retail space. These pieces sit atop the parking garage, whose driveway sequence will be reconfigured so visitors arriving via rideshare can be dropped off at the plaza in front of the stairs. The tram itself will also be replaced with a new, “more comfortable model” manufactured by Doppelmayr, which has supplied airport and similar shuttles worldwide.
Once ascending the hill and stepping off the tram, visitors to the Getty Center campus will enter a “significantly upgraded Welcome Hall” designed by WHY Architecture, the firm of Kulapat Yantrasast. Unlike the arrival sequence, which is wholly new, WHY's design blends with the original architecture designed by Richard Meier and Partners. New features of the welcome hall will include a large information screen and desk greeting visitors, an expanded bookstore, and a new full-service café, all shown below. With this latest reveal, the Getty Center is still planning on closing from March 15, 2027, and reopening to the public in spring 2028.
