The Getty Villa

The original Getty Museum housed in a replica of a Roman Villa on a siteoverlooking the Pacific Ocean is one of Los Angeless most treasuredlandmarks. Closed for... » 

The original Getty Museum housed in a replica of a Roman Villa on a siteoverlooking the Pacific Ocean is one of Los Angeless most treasuredlandmarks. Closed for almost ten years while renovations were made to thebuilding and the site itself was transformed into a center for the study ofantiquities and conservation the Getty Villa is now set to open late in 2005.The Getty Villa is a lively history of the Getty Museum its renownedantiquities collections and its growth from a small museum in a ranch house inMalibu to its first home in a building designed to replicate what we know ofthe Villa dei Papiri an ancient Roman villa partially uncovered inHerculaneum. Most engagingly this book records the tenyear adventure inreconfiguring a beautiful but topographically challenging site into one thatcould continue to accommodate the splendid Museum building and also provide foran outdoor theater laboratories for conservation work andresearch offices for staff and visiting scholars and an education program foradults and children.This is a story of architectural imagination geographical challenges andlegal hurdles all of which have resulted in a truly unique and beautiful site.The story is an enlightening and rewarding one for anyone interested inarchitecture and in the difficulties posed by building on a grand scalein the twentyfirst century. Beautifully illustrated throughout the bookincludes 250 reproductions of works of art photographs of both the old and thenew Getty Museum site plans and architectural elevations. «