The institute, founded in 2010 by billionaire Nicholas Berggruen, a center for the study of social, economic and political formations, with a program in the humanities and social sciences, will now receive its own building: according to its creator, a new campus should open in about five years.
The campus will be located near downtown Los Angeles, in a mountainous area near the Getty Center. There was a landfill near its site in the 1970s, in the 1980s, to fill it up, the upper part of a low ridge was cut off - and it is on this leveled piece of land that the campus will be built so as not to disturb the existing ecosystem. On the territory of 182 hectares, no more than 10% will be built up, and the existing hiking trails there will remain open to the public.
The elongated section will occupy a linear park on a stylobate, bounded by adobe walls; Designed by Michel Devin and Inessa Hansch, it is planned that they will use arid-resistant plants and will create a system for collecting and then using rainwater. One part of the campus will be the “Chairman's Residence” - the house of Berggrün and his family, the second - the “Village of Scientists”, 15 villas with courtyards for family researchers and short-term researchers. All these dwellings with adobe walls are inscribed in the landscape.
The main component of the project, the institute building itself, on the other hand, is raised above the ground, so that, among other things, more spectacular panoramas of the city, ocean and mountains open from there. According to the architects and according to the program of the project (individual studies, seminars, lectures), it should combine the possibility of solitude and large gatherings. The model of the monastery became a natural reference point, especially since in the main building most of the employees will not only work, but also live. The laconic concrete and wood surfaces are intended to contrast with two "non-material" areas: one will contain an auditorium with 250 seats, the other will become a reservoir for water.
