Designers that incorporate daylight into exhibition areas must deal with a host of other challenges, including meeting conservation criteria that limit exposure levels for artworks and creating visually comfortable conditions for visitors. And in order to achieve the best result, architects and their consultants must work in an integrated team to analyze site conditions and weather data, establish the orientation and geometry of a building, and position and size apertures.

 

Los Angeles County Museum of Art Partial Site Plan 1. Broad Contemporary Art Museum 2. BP Grand Entrance 3. Special Exhibitions (planned) Image courtesy RPBW

 

Making the most of the Southern California sun

The BCAM building in Los Angeles was the outcome of such a collaborative process, involving the Renzo Piano Building Workshop, a multidisciplinary group of engineers from Arup, and Gensler as executive architect. The 72,000-square-foot building is part of a larger multiphased expansion that includes a just-completed new entrance to the LACMA campus and a projected 40,000-square-foot, single-story daylit exhibition space.

 

The BCAM building's sawtooth roof is an adaptation of those found on many industrial buildings. Its structure (below) is made up of east-to-west spanning trusses and tension and compression bracing. Top photo © Museum Associates/LACMA; bottom photo courtesy ARUP