La Brea Tar Pits Reimagination

ClientNatural History Museums of Los Angeles County Foundation
Budget$240,000,000
Size13 acres · 63,000 sf museum
Design ArchitectWeiss / Manfredi
Completion2028

Overview

A campus reimagined for generations to come

La Brea Tar Pit will be the renovation of the existing 63,000 SF George C. Page Museum as well as a full re-design and enhancement of the existing 13-acres of park. The renovation and expansion is conceived as a contemporary Wunderkammer, a treasure chest of stunning fossils and artifacts, from large to microscopic.

The La Brea Tar Pits and Page Museum are sites of exploration and an enduring source of wonder. As the only active urban paleontological research site in the world, the reimagination of the park and museum emerges from a close analysis of what is present, inspiring a commitment to preserve and magnify the park, the tar pits, and the museum as an ever-changing campus for discovery.

The La Brea Loops and Lenses form a triple Möbius strip that links all existing elements of the park to redefine Hancock Park as a continuously unfolding experience, connecting three distinguishing identities that are latent within the park today: Research and Revelation — the site of the excavation pits and Pleistocene Garden, Community and Culture — where the museum and central green are located, and Spectacle and Urban Fictions — where the lake pit and mastodons join the public imagination on Wilshire Boulevard. The different themes of the loops embody journeys, with programming that appeals to diverse interests.

Team

Owner's Representative Landmark PM
Design Architect Weiss / Manfredi
Executive Architect Gruen Associates
Exhibit Designer KossmannDeJong
Structural Engineer Magnusson Klemencic Associates
Civil Engineer KPFF
MEP / FP / IT / Sustainability Introba
Permit Expediter Kimberlina Whettam & Associates
Acoustics & AV Akustiks
Architectural Lighting & Daylighting Brandston Partnership Inc.
Cost Estimator Directional Logic
Dry Utilities Rise Engineering
FF&E Weiss / Manfredi Architecture / Landscape / Urbanism
Finish Hardware AWC West
Fire / Life Safety Code & Accessibility Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
Food & Waste Services Cini-Little International
Glazing Heintges
Graphic Design (Branding & Wayfinding) Pentagram
Historic Preservation Historic Resources Group
Horticulture Perry & Associates Collaborative
Irrigation Sweeney & Associates
Loading, Parking, & Traffic Fehr & Peers
Plan Check Facilitator Kimberlina Whettam & Associates
Signage Selbert Perkins
Specifications Writer AWC West
Stone Sourcing Swenson Stone Consultants
Vertical Transportation Syska Hennessy Group
Waterproofing Walker Consultants
General Contractor Clark Construction

Voices

"It has been a pleasure working with Alex and Landmark PM as our owner's representative and project manager for the La Brea Tar Pits reimagination master plan project. Alex has been so helpful in advocating for us and helping us to navigate and manage a very complex project. Alex is consistently resourceful and a creative problem-solver; he keeps us organized and focused on achieving our goals within budget and schedule. I would highly recommend Alex and Landmark PM."

Leslie Negritto Chief Financial and Operating Officer, Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County Foundation

"Working on a project as complex as the La Brea Tar Pits Museum requires seamless coordination between multiple teams, and Landmark PM has been instrumental in making that happen. As the creative director for the exhibitions, I've seen firsthand how they facilitate difficult discussions when stakeholders don't agree, always in a friendly and productive way. Their collaborative approach ensures that every voice is heard, and their ability to listen first, ask the right questions, and then form conclusions makes them great project managers. I would gladly work with Landmark PM again on future projects."

Niels de Jong Creative Director / Partner, Kossmanndejong

"I truly consider Alex to be one of the good ones in our industry. He has an innate ability and laser focus to arrive at solutions that move complex problems and projects forward, and doing so in a manner that keeps the people and the teams wanting to continue to work together. This is such a rare attribute that I have only seen in a few leaders after my more than 35 years of experience as an Architect. He was instrumental to the project's success and I hope to work with him time and time again."

Debra Gerod, FAIA Partner, Gruen Associates

"Working in the construction and development industry for over 23 years I have worked with a lot of various team members. With that in mind, I have had the pleasure and the luck to work with Alex for the last 5 years on three large and complex projects. He is a natural leader who is competent, organized and a knowledgeable Owners representative. He is a superb team member who keeps the project and the team's best interests at heart. With professionalism, a direct, transparent, and collaborative approach, Alex ensures project success. I wish he were on all our projects."

Kimberlina Whettam Principal, Kimberlina Whettam & Associates
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