The Berggruen Institute: Design in the Monastic Traditions
The Berggruen Institute unveiled plans for a new campus in Los Angeles designed by Herzog & de Meuron, the Pritzker Prize-winning architecture firm internationally admired for the environmental sensitivity and intellectual integrity of its work; and supported by Gensler as executive architect. The campus master plan and its design respond to both the Berggruen Institute’s desire to respect and restore the landscape of its 447-acre site—over 90% of which will be preserved as open space—and the Institute’s intention to create a private educational forum where distinguished scholars can interact with thought leaders.
In May 2016, the Berggruen Institute announced its decision to focus its activities on a new Los Angeles campus, on the site located in eastern part Santa Monica mountains near Topanga State Park, as a sign of progressive business society and close coupling with nature, inherent in Southern California. After intensive conversations with architects throughout the world, visiting their buildings and talking with their clients, architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron was chosen.
The Berggruen Institute requires an inspirational setting for research and study, a framework which fosters the exchange of ideas and knowledge and provides the opportunity to live in a shared environment. Spaces for individual study and venues for seminars, symposiums, and workshops are combined with living quarters for fellows, academics and other thought leaders. Additional temporary accommodations are provided for visiting participants at the Institute’s academic workshops. Some of the staff of the Institute will also work on the new premises.
The new Institute building must strike a careful balance between the needs of the individual and those of the collective; it must allow for the quiet routine of the everyday to coexist with the requirements of larger gatherings. A compelling reference is found in monastic architecture.
Since ancient times, monasteries have been places for individual study and reflection as well as group exchange and gathering. In line with such scholastic tradition, the program incorporates the natural surroundings. The Southern California climate makes it possible to provide spaces for exchange both indoors and outdoors, accommodating small, concentrated study groups as well as large symposia.
Materials provided by Herzog & de Meuron
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