{"id":109973,"date":"2026-07-30T13:06:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T13:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/109973\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T13:06:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T13:06:24","slug":"building-a-swiss-watch-out-of-concrete-clark-construction-on-lacmas-david-geffen-galleries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/109973\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cBuilding a Swiss Watch Out of Concrete\u201d: Clark Construction on LACMA\u2019s David Geffen Galleries"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\u201cBuilding<\/a>August 2023; An aerial perspective captures the sprawling scale of the horizontal construction sequence as the structure begins taking its organic shape across the site.. Image Courtesy of Clark Construction<\/p>\n

Published on July 30, 2026<\/p>\n

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https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1148587\/building-a-swiss-watch-out-of-concrete-clark-construction-on-lacmas-david-geffen-galleries<\/p>\n

The recently opened David Geffen Galleries at LACMA<\/a> are the result of more than a decade of effort across many fronts: the city, the county, the public, the architect, the engineers, the general contractor, and the many builders involved in translating an ambitious and visionary design into built form<\/a>. The project has also been subject to unusually intense scrutiny, with responses ranging from admiration for its meticulous construction and architectural ambition to criticism of its scale, cost, concrete<\/a> mass, and engineering complexity in earthquake-prone Los Angeles<\/a>. Whatever one’s position, the building remains an exceptionally sophisticated case study in how architecture is negotiated through construction<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This conversation approaches the David Geffen Galleries from the perspective of Clark Construction<\/a>, the general contractor responsible for helping bring Peter Zumthor’s design to completion. Carlos Gonzalez, Group President at Clark Construction, oversaw the construction process and shared with ArchDaily some of the technical, material, and logistical challenges behind the building. These range from its monolithic concrete structure<\/a> and extensive post-tensioning system<\/a> to the 56 seismic isolators that allow the building to move during an earthquake; from unpredictable ground conditions near the La Brea Tar Pits to the fabrication of solid bronze mullions and the integration of mechanical systems<\/a> within the building’s double-deck concrete structure.<\/p>\n

\"\u201cBuilding<\/a>\"\u201cBuilding<\/a>\"\u201cBuilding<\/a>\"\u201cBuilding<\/a>\"\u201cBuilding+ 22<\/a><\/p>\n

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