LA County's Natural History Museums Names La Brea Tar Pits' Revamp Designer

After an extensive international search, the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC) recently announced that Kossmanndejong (KDJ) of Amsterdam would be leading the exhibition design for the La Brea Tar Pits renovation.

In collaboration with Los Angeles’s WEISS/MANFREDI and Gruen Associates, the studio will be responsible for the project’s project planning, revitalizing the 13-acre campus close to LACMA and the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Hancock Park.

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The group based in Amsterdam will work to design displays that assist in conveying the narrative of the Ice Age fossils stuck in the natural asphalt (tar) at Hancock Park, which is located just a few steps away from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Because of its position in the middle of Los Angeles, the Tar Pit is the only active fossil record research site that can be found in a city anywhere in the globe.

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Director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, Dr. Lori Bettison-Varga, remarked, “We have been working toward a reinvented La Brea Tar Pits for several years now, as we aim for a visitor experience equivalent to the promise of sharing discoveries from a research site unique in the world.”

Dr. Lori Bettison-Varga continued, “The mission of the Tar Pits Renovation Process is to emphasize the crucial significance of the Tar Pits to our climate change era, offer facilities that better support ongoing scientific work; protect this cherished Los Angeles monument, and establish a captivating community assembling place with an accessible outdoor greenery.”

La Brea Tar Pits’ Concept

There are plans in place to increase the exposure and accessibility of this research to students. To allow young folks to see science in action and gain insight into the institution’s ongoing climate change research, the designers are constructing a 0.6-mile double helical structure walkway through the park and around the La Brea Tar Pits, in addition to a new outdoor classroom at Pit 91.

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With the help of local firm Gruen Associates, WEISS/MANFREDI is enhancing the connections between the tar pits, the lawns, and the museum, all of which are spread across a site the size of almost ten football fields, extending the exhibits and improving the collections areas and research centers, including the visible fossil lab.

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The two teams will additionally rehabilitate the Central Green at the La Brea Tar Pits to prioritize public amusement, picnicking, and playtime while preserving the current grassy knolls.

Central Green Area ©NHMLAC

In addition to this, they are planning to construct a new enclosed entrance pavilion at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Curson Avenue. This pavilion will welcome visitors into the Pleistocene Garden and provide them with framed views of the bioswale, sculptures, and other features. A further entrance sheltered by a canopy will be accessible from the 6th Street side.

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Kossmanndejong will be the final significant member to be added to the team before work on the La Brea Tar Pits project begins. Los Angeles County is now preparing the Environmental Impact Report for the proposed master plan, and the county says that it should be publicly available for review by 2023’s summer end.