Brooks + Scarpa (formerly Pugh + Scarpa) Architects is undertaking the design of a permanent shelter structure, observation platform and interpretive center, encompassing the allegorical mural “Tropical America” by David Alfaro Siqueiros, a radical expelled from Mexico in the 1930s. Offensive to the conservative society doyennes of the time, the mural, depicting the struggle of native peoples against imperialism, was painted over. As the whitewash peeled away, the mural was rediscovered in the 1960s as the Chicano movement gained momentum, but a lack of funds prevented its full restoration, which is now finally underway. The mural is located in the historic heart of Los Angeles, Olvera Street, along a second-story exterior wall. The aim of Brooks + Scarpa’s canopy design is to announce the mural’s existence to the public and create a new focal point near the vibrant shopping streets of the original Pueblo of Los Angeles, and adjacent to important 20th century icons, Union Station and City Hall. Brooks + Scarpa collaborated with experienced exhibit designers IQ Magic on this project.
Owner: City of Los Angeles
Architect: Brooks + Scarpa (formerly Pugh + Scarpa) Architects
Structural Engineers: Buro Happold, Murashige & Onishi
Exhibit Design: IQ Magic
Lighting Design: Horton Lees Brogden
Electrical Engineer: Gausman & Moore
MEP Engineer: Innovative Engineering
Fire/Life Safety: Schirmer Engineering
Archaeologist: Greenwood and Associates
Historic Consultant: KCK Architects
Specifications: Philip Easton
Architect: Brooks + Scarpa (formerly Pugh + Scarpa) Architects
Structural Engineers: Buro Happold, Murashige & Onishi
Exhibit Design: IQ Magic
Lighting Design: Horton Lees Brogden
Electrical Engineer: Gausman & Moore
MEP Engineer: Innovative Engineering
Fire/Life Safety: Schirmer Engineering
Archaeologist: Greenwood and Associates
Historic Consultant: KCK Architects
Specifications: Philip Easton
