MATT Construction project manager Sam Ragsdale snapped this iPhone photograph of crews installing the exterior skin at the Petersen Automotive Museum renovation in Los Angeles. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, the enclosure features 307 stainless steel-skinned ribbons of varying shapes and sizes that wrap 120,000 sq ft of the building's facade and roof. The design "evokes the imagery of speed and the organic curves of a coach-built automobile," according to the museum.
The ribbons are variously shaped aluminum fins that bear on structural steel or aluminum tubing. Crews install the pre-assembled ribbons using steel connections that will support the facade between 8 ft and 30 ft off the existing building. MATT Construction, the project's general contractor, strengthened the building and performed seismic upgrades to accommodate the added loads imposed by the new facade system.
Upon completion in December, the museum will contain three floors of upgraded gallery space, an elevator for cars and a roof pavilion.
