Descriptive Summary
Biographical Information: Machado and Silvetti Associates
Historical Background: The Getty Villa
Administrative Information
Related Archival Materials Note
Scope and Content of Collection
Indexing Terms
Descriptive Summary
Title: Getty Villa renovation design records
Date (inclusive): 1994-2004
Number: IA10019
Creator/Collector:
Machado and Silvetti Associates, Inc.
Physical Description:
352.0 linear feet
(approximately 145 boxes, 12 flat files, and 47 architectural models)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Institutional Records and Archives
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, California, 90049-1688
(310) 440-7390
archives@getty.edu
Abstract: The records comprise architectural drawings and renderings, models, design research materials, construction administration
records, photographs, and electronic files documenting the design and construction of the Getty Villa and Ranch House renovation
from 1994-2004. The records were created by Machado and Silvetti Associates and serve as an overview and summary of the project.
Request Materials: To access physical materials at the Getty, go to the
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general library access policy . See the Administrative Information section of this finding aid for access restrictions specific to the records described
below. Please note, some of the records may be stored off site; advanced notice is required for access to these materials.
Language: Collection material is in
English
Biographical Information: Machado and Silvetti Associates
Machado and Silvetti Associates is an architecture and urban design firm based in Boston, MA. Incorporated in 1985, the firm's
diverse projects include art museums, educational institutions, and urban design and planning worldwide.
In 1991, the firm was given the first ever Award in Architecture by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The office has
since received three National Honor Awards from the American Institute of Architects as well as the AIA Brick in Architecture
Award, ten Progressive Architecture awards and citations, twelve design awards from the New England AIA chapter, seventeen
Boston Society of Architects awards, including the 2003 Harleston Parker Medal, and the International Award for Architecture
in Stone.
The firm's designs have been published in numerous international professional magazines and displayed in exhibitions in the
United States, Europe, and Latin America. Monographs produced on the firm include,
Rodolfo Machado and Jorge Silvetti: Buildings for Cities (1990),
Casas 40: Rodolfo Machado & Jorge Silvetti (1995), and
Unprecedented Realism: The Architecture of Machado and Silvetti (1995).
The J. Paul Getty Trust commissioned Machado and Silvetti Associates for the master plan and design of the new expansion of
the Getty Villa after an extensive international search.
Historical Background: The Getty Villa
The Getty Villa, located in Malibu, California, operates as a museum and educational center dedicated to the study of the
arts and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria. The Getty Villa was designed to house J. Paul Getty's art collection
when the collection outgrew his Ranch House, which had served as a private museum since 1954. After considering various options
for expanding the Ranch House, Getty decided in the fall of 1968 to build a new museum on the same property, in the form of
a first-century Roman country house, based primarily on the plans of the ancient Villa dei Papiri just outside of Herculaneum.
The archaeologist Norman Neuerburg, who had studied the ruins of Herculaneum and was an authority on Roman domestic architecture,
was retained as a consultant for the project. The Santa Monica architectural firm Langdon & Wilson was hired to design the
Villa, and British architect Stephen Garrett, who had served as Getty's consultant in the remodeling of a Getty home in Posillipo,
Italy, was retained as overseer of the construction. Landscape architect Emmet Wemple designed the gardens, Garth Benton worked
on the murals, and Bruce Ptolomy worked on the fountains. Construction began on December 21, 1970, and the new museum opened
to the public on January 16, 1974, receiving negative and positive reviews.
J. Paul Getty died in 1976 without ever seeing the museum he commissioned, but is buried at the Villa site on a bluff overlooking
the ocean. After Getty's death and the establishment of the J. Paul Getty Trust, the Villa became part of a larger vision.
As part of the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Villa is overseen by the J. Paul Getty Trust, an international cultural and philanthropic
organization serving both general audiences and specialized professionals. The Trust is a not-for-profit institution, educational
in purpose and character, that focuses on the visual arts in all of their dimensions. As of 2011 the Trust supports and oversees
four programs: the Getty Research Institute; the Getty Foundation; the Getty Conservation Institute; and the J. Paul Getty
Museum. Beginning in the 1980s the Trust developed an expansion plan that included the Getty Center campus in Brentwood and
the renovation and expansion of the Villa in Malibu. When the Getty Center opened in 1997, the Villa closed to undergo extensive
remodeling.
The architectural firm of Machado and Silvetti Associates redesigned the Villa site, adding galleries, skylights, an auditorium,
an amphitheater, and new structures for conservation and administrative offices. Much of the original Villa was retained,
including the wall murals, which original artist Garth Benton agreed to restore and refresh. The redesigned Villa opened on
January 28, 2006, receiving high praise from reviewers. While most of the Museum's collections are housed at the Getty Center,
the antiquities collection is housed at the Villa. The Getty Villa serves a varied audience through its permanent collection,
changing exhibitions, conservation, scholarship, research, and public programs in an intimate setting overlooking the Pacific
Ocean. Public and scholarly programs at the Villa include lectures, seminars, conferences, workshops, symposia, film series,
musical concerts, and theatrical performances in the Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman Outdoor Classical Theater.
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Access note
The records described in accession 2004.IA.05 and 2004.IA.06 are available for use by qualified researchers.
The following types of records are permanently closed: records containing personal information, records that compromise security
or operations, legal communications, legal work product, and records related to donors. The J. Paul Getty Trust reserves the
right to restrict access to any records held by the Institutional Archives.
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
[Cite the item and series (as appropriate)], Villa Renovation Design Records, Machado and Silvetti Associates. The Getty Research
Institute, Finding aid no. IA10019.
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
The materials described in this finding aid originated in accession 2004.IA.05 and 2004.IA.06, which were transferred to the
Archives by the creators, Machado and Silvetti Associates. Accession 2013.IA.36 was later transferred to the Archives from
Capital Project Support.
Processing Information note
To prepare this inventory, the described materials were cursorily reviewed to roughly delineate series, to create accurate
contents lists, to provide an estimate of dates covered, and to determine record types. With the exception of Series III the
records are largely unprocessed. In 2011, Katie Duvall processed Series III, arranging and describing those records at the
folder level. Cyndi Shein added accession 2013.IA.36 in 2013.
Related Archival Materials Note
The following materials are offered as possible sources of further information on the people and subjects covered by the records.
The listing is not exhaustive.
Contributing Institution:
Getty Institutional Archives
Getty Villa photographs, Julius Shulman. The Getty Research Institute (IA20031).
Design competition sketchbooks for the Getty Villa renovation, 1993, J. Paul Getty Trust. The Getty Research Institute (2005.IA.07).
Getty Villa construction records, 1960, 1964, 1968-1986, undated, J. Paul Getty Museum. The Getty Research Institute (IA10001).
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection comprises architectural drawings and renderings, models, design research materials, construction administration
records, photographs, and electronic files created by Machado and Silvetti Associates documenting the design and construction
of the Getty Villa and Ranch House renovation project from 1994-2004.
Series III, the project planning and administration records, primarily reflect the files of Machado and Silvetti associates
Peter Lofgren (Associate in charge of the Masterplan Team, 1993-1996, Contracts and Entitlements Manager, 1996-unknown) and
Tim Love (Associate in charge of the Masterplan Team, 1993-1996, Project Manager and Senior Designer, 1996-2002) dating from
1993-2001. They consist of administrative files, blueline prints, blueprints, black-and-white prints, and drawings.
The records in Series III serve as an overview and summary of the project phases and include materials relating to associate
architect and consultant selection, the space program and master plan, entitlements, budget and administrative issues. Also
included are reference logs and subject files that provide a more detailed look at certain portions of the project.
Arrangement
The records are roughly arranged into three series:
Series I. Drawings and sketches, 1994-2000;
Series II. Models, 1995-2000;
Series III. Project planning and administration, 1993-2001.
Indexing Terms
Subjects - Corporate Bodies
Getty Villa (Malibu, Calif.)
J. Paul Getty Museum
Langdon and Wilson Architects
Machado and Silvetti Associates, Inc.
Subjects - Topics
Architecture--Roman influences
Art museums--Design and construction
Museum architecture--California
Museum buildings--California--Malibu--Design and construction
Museum buildings--Planning
Genres and Forms of Material
Architectural drawings--20th century
Architectural models
Architectural records