Griffith Observatory Renovation and Expansion

Los Angeles, CA

A fully restored, beloved local landmark hides expansive new exhibit space below ground.

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.

This project was restored and expanded by Pfeiffer prior to joining Perkins Eastman.

Project Facts

Client:

City of Los Angeles

Size:

27,300 af existing | 39,600 sf addition

Practice Areas:

Arts + Culture, Renovation + Historic Buildings

Region:

United States

Studios:

Los Angeles

Awards

2008 AIA Institute Honors Award

2007 National Preservation Honor Award, National Trust for Historic Preservation

2007 Trustees Award for Excellence in Preservation, California Preservation Foundation

2007 Design Award/ Preservation, California Preservation Foundation

2007 Design Award/ Preservation-Large, California Preservation Foundation

2007 Citation, AIA-LA Design Awards

2007 Preservation Award, Los Angeles Conservancy

2007 Reconstruction Gold Award, Building Design + Construction

2007 LA Architectural Award Grand Prize, Los Angeles Business Council

2007 Preservation Award, Hollywood Arts Council

2007 Jury Award for Exhibit Design, Society for Environmental Graphic Design

2007 AIGA Award for Exhibit Design

2006 Meliora Award for Best Public Space, Los Feliz Improvement Association

2001 Westside Prize, Westside Urban Forum