The Broad and its honeycomb museum in downtown Los Angeles
Published on 09/15/2026 at 21:39 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
The Broad is a contemporary art museum on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, combining a vast collection of postwar art with a striking honeycomb concrete building. Opened in 2015 and founded by philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad, it has become a landmark where architecture and contemporary art share centre stage.
A veil and a vault on Grand Avenue
The Broad stands on the corner of Grand Avenue and 2nd Street in the cultural district of downtown Los Angeles, facing the Walt Disney Concert Hall across the street. The museum was founded by Eli and Edythe Broad to house the Broad collection, and it opened to the public in September 2015.Opened in September 2015 The site places visitors among major cultural institutions, with the museum forming part of a cluster of performing arts and visual arts venues.
The building was designed by New York practice Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Gensler as executive architect.Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Gensler The completed museum reaches around three storeys above street level and occupies about 120,000 square feet (around 11,150 m²) of floor area.Around 120,000 square feet of floor area Inside, two principal public gallery levels sit above and around a central storage volume, the “vault”, which holds the collection when works are not on display.
The honeycomb concrete skin
The most recognisable feature of The Broad is its exterior “veil”, a honeycomb of precast, fibre-reinforced concrete panels that wrap around the museum and filter daylight into the interior galleries.Honeycomb veil of fibre-reinforced concrete The panels form a continuous textured envelope, draping over the roof and down the sides while lifting at the corners to frame entrances and views. This veil sits over the solid inner volume of the vault, producing a clear contrast between perforated outer skin and protected core.
On Grand Avenue, the veil opens into a recessed entrance and a high lobby that stretches beneath the vault, with escalators and stairs rising to the upper galleries.Lobby beneath the vault and escalator route The Walt Disney Concert Hall’s stainless-steel forms are visible opposite, and the pale concrete of The Broad sets up a deliberate contrast in colour and texture. Around the building, the veil’s angled apertures cast sharp shadows across the façade during the day, emphasising its geometric relief.
A collection of postwar and contemporary art
The Broad houses more than 2,000 works of postwar and contemporary art amassed over several decades by Eli and Edythe Broad.More than 2,000 works of art The collection includes works by major figures of the later twentieth century and early twenty-first century, spanning movements such as pop art, conceptual art and contemporary installation. Many of these works are drawn from the holdings of The Broad Art Foundation, which has been lending pieces to museums worldwide since the 1980s.The Broad Art Foundation lending programme
Galleries occupy the ground floor and the large top-floor level, where an expansive column-free space is lit indirectly through the veil and roof openings to avoid direct glare on the artworks.Two floors of gallery space Between these public areas, the vault runs through the centre of the building, and its edges appear as solid sculpted forms along certain circulation routes, reminding visitors of the stored works surrounding them.
Visiting The Broad: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- The Broad stands on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, at the corner of 2nd Street, opposite the Walt Disney Concert Hall and near other cultural institutions.
- Los Angeles Metro Rail services stop at Grand Avenue Arts/Bunker Hill station, from where it is a short walk to The Broad along Grand Avenue.
- Inside the museum, movement between levels uses long escalators and staircases, and routes pass beneath and around the central vault volume, so some areas involve extended walks indoors.
- The museum sits among city streets and plazas, with paved approaches and gentle gradients, although the immediate surroundings are urban rather than landscaped parkland.
- English is the official language and the currency is the United States dollar.
Searching for The Broad on social platforms
These links open searches for The Broad on each platform.Frequently asked questions about The Broad
Where is The Broad located in Los Angeles?
The Broad is on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, at the corner of 2nd Street, opposite the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
What kind of museum is The Broad?
The Broad is a contemporary art museum founded by Eli and Edythe Broad, dedicated to postwar and contemporary artworks from the Broad collection.
What makes The Broad distinctive among Los Angeles museums?
The Broad combines a honeycomb concrete exterior and central vault with extensive postwar and contemporary art galleries, giving architecture and collection equal prominence.
