The Broad and its veil of concrete

The Broad in Los Angeles pairs a honeycomb exterior with a central vault. Inside, the building turns contemporary art into architecture.

The Broad in Los Angeles is a contemporary art museum whose most striking feature is its concrete veil. Opened in 2015, it stands on Grand Avenue and was designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro with Gensler.opened in 2015 designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro

A building wrapped in veil and vault

The building is organised around two visible parts: a porous outer shell and a central vault. The veil is a honeycomb-like structure, while the vault holds storage, offices and services behind it.the veil and the vault

That contrast gives The Broad its character from the street. The exterior reads as a dense skin, while the interior programme is concentrated into a more enclosed core.

Contemporary art inside a compact landmark

The Broad was founded by Eli and Edythe Broad and holds the Broad collection, with over 2,000 works by nearly 200 artists. Its holdings place postwar and contemporary art at the centre of the museum’s identity.over 2,000 works Eli and Edythe Broad

The museum building is 120,000 square feet and contains two floors of gallery space. It is also the headquarters of The Broad Art Foundation’s lending library, which links exhibition space with collection storage.120,000-square-foot building

Grand Avenue, Walt Disney Concert Hall and the city block

The Broad sits on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, across from Walt Disney Concert Hall. The address places it within a dense cultural corridor rather than on a separate museum campus.Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles

The façade’s perforated surface, the large glazed openings and the broad third-floor gallery give the building a strong presence on the block. Its form is compact, but the exterior treatment keeps the mass visually active.

Visiting The Broad: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• The museum is on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, and the address is 221 S Grand Avenue.
• The main approach is by city streets; it also sits near Walt Disney Concert Hall.
• The building includes escalators, a central vault and gallery levels above and below it.
• English is the main language used for visitors, and the currency is the US dollar.
• Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.

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Frequently asked questions about The Broad

Where is The Broad?

The Broad is on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, at 221 S Grand Avenue. It stands across the street from Walt Disney Concert Hall.

What does a visit involve?

The museum combines street-level arrival spaces, escalators and gallery floors around a central vault. Its interior is organised around contemporary art and collection storage.

What makes The Broad distinctive?

Its defining feature is the veil-and-vault composition. The outer shell, the central core and the gallery levels create a clear architectural identity.