Credit: Raimund Koch.
In an article by the local outlet, the KPF Principal provided insight into how the team evoked speed in the transformative design of the world-renowned car museum.
20 years after its opening in 1994, the Petersen Automotive Museum underwent a 14-month renovation with a goal of modernizing, updating, and improving the institution. The article highlights that the design, presented by Trent and KPF Co-Founder Gene Kohn was “unanimously admired by the museum’s board upon first sight” for its ability to represent speed and motion. The board had a vision in mind of curves detailed with red, referencing the soft edges of a car and its essential speed.
Upon witnessing the building’s construction progress in person for the first time, Trent shared his “heart was beating faster” seeing the red ribbons going up. “It has such a presence along Wilshire and Fairfax. I think it achieved all the goals that they were trying to achieve,” he said. The clients were clear about their inspiration, “Car guys … love the curves of the car, the body of the car and everything about it that represents speed and elegance. All of these words just kept coming across to us, so when it came time for the design, we imagined a series of these lines that would wrap around the building.”
The article also spoke with the museum’s executive director Terry Karges, who applauds the transformation as it turned the Petersen into “a world-class institution, and just as cars evolve, the board and administration always keeps an eye toward the future.”
Read the full article from Beverly Press here.