Swiss architect Peter Zumthor addressing the crowd at the preopening ceremony in Los Angeles, April 15, 2026. Image: Archinect
Watch Peter Zumthor‘s impromptu remarks at the preopening ceremony of LACMA’s new David Geffen Galleries in Los Angeles this week.
Seemingly unprepared (or reluctant) to talk about his design, Zumthor instead talked about his connection to the United States: From his childhood in Basel, Switzerland, during the WWII liberation by American troops to his time as a young architecture student at Pratt Institute in NYC and later teaching at SCI-Arc in LA.
“I love this city,” he said about Los Angeles with a smile. “This is a great city!”
Video by Archinect, recorded on April 15, 2026.
Don’t miss our previous LACMA makeover saga coverage, including new photos of the completed building and our extensive look back at the scheme’s timeline (remember that original OMA proposal?).