Getty Villa renovation design records, 1994-2004

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Summary

Creators:
Machado and Silvetti Associates, Inc.
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.
Extent:
352.0 linear feet (approximately 145 boxes, 12 flat files, and 47 architectural models)
Language:
Collection material is in English

Background

Scope and content:

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.

Biographical / historical:

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.

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.

Acquisition information:
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.
Physical location:
To access physical materials at the Getty, go to the library catalog record for this collection and click "Request an Item." Click here for 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.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Location of this collection:
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, CA 90049-1688, US
Contact:
(310) 440-7390
Website