Weiss/Manfredi Selected as Finalist to Reimagine La Brea Tar Pits

WEISS/MANFREDI has been selected by the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County as one of three finalists in an international design competition for the La Brea Tar Pits. The world's only active paleontological research facility located in a major urban area, the La Brea Tar Pits is situated within the eastern portion of Hancock Park in Los Angeles's Miracle Mile district. Since research began in 1913, the Tar Pits have yielded millions of samples, including saber-toothed cats, dire wolf and mastodon skeletons, innumerable plants, small rodents, and insects. New discoveries are made daily in the Tar Pits open-air excavations. These collections constitute an unparalleled resource for understanding environmental change in Los Angeles and the planet during the last 50,000 years of Earth's history. The project for a comprehensive reimagining of this uniquely important campus will begin with the development of a creative master plan, undertaken to advance NHMLAC's scientific research and public engagement for the next half-century.

WEISS/MANFREDI is partnered with brand and graphics designer Michael Bierut, paleobotanist Dr. Carol Gee, artist Mark Dion and Emmy Award-winning director and designer Karin Fong. The other finalists are Dorte Mandrup with landscape architect Martha Schwartz, visual designers Kontrapunkt and executive architects Gruen Associates, and Diller Scofidio + Renfro with landscape architects Rana Creek and landscape architect and urban theorist Walter Hood. On the basis of its own review and the public's feedback, NHMLAC expects to announce its chosen firm toward the end of 2019.