Peter Zumthor on criticism of LACMA's David Geffen Galleries, and how L.A. changed his practice for good

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

During a recent Zoom interview from his studio in Switzerland, Peter Zumthor offered a candid look at the making of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s new David Geffen Galleries.The Pritzker Prize-winning architect addressed long-standing criticisms of the building and answered questions about his craft.

He noted that the structure is a rejection of the overly “slick” architecture he believes defines the present moment, and shed light on the building’s early development, describing a contained process in which the concept was shaped before being presented to the public.Finally, he discussed the broader ambition of the endeavor: dissolving traditional circulation and prioritizing emotional experience over institutional order.The following interview excerpts have been edited and condensed for length and clarity.You are well-known as both an architect and a craftsman.

I think the biggest place for that focus was the concrete.I’m curious about how you formed it.

It’s not the typical museum concrete.I work like an artist in building.This means I custom-make buildings.

I can use a few standard details or products, like in the basement.But where the building has an identity, becomes visible, it’s almost all handmade.

I have an image of what I want to do, what the building should do, how it should look.So I need people who can help me make custom-made products.The people who did the formwork — the concrete pouring — [worked in] groups of 100 or more.

They were fantastic.They loved their work.

At the beginning, formwork leaked on a door, and it looked terrible.They said, “Peter, we’re sorry.

We made a mistake.We can fix this.

You will not see this afterwards.” But if you make a mistake, you cannot mend it, because what you’re doing here is a concrete sculpture.Sculptures are never mended.

Entertainment & Arts Our critic picks 17 unmissable works ...