{"id":392345,"date":"2026-04-14T23:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T23:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/392345\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T23:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T23:02:10","slug":"california-science-center-expansion-by-zgf-contains-space-shuttle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/392345\/","title":{"rendered":"California Science Center expansion by ZGF contains space shuttle"},"content":{"rendered":"

American architecture studio ZGF<\/a>‘s building in Los Angeles<\/a> is complete with a full-size space shuttle “in launch position” wrapped in a stainless steel cylinder.<\/p>\n

The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center (Air and Space Center), designed by ZGF Architects<\/a> and built by MATT Construction<\/a>, took four years to complete.<\/p>\n

It is part of the California Science Center and features a 200-foot-tall (61 metres) curvilinear tower, which holds the full-sized space shuttle.<\/p>\n

\"SamuelBuilding construction is complete on an expansion to the California Science Center<\/p>\n

According to the team, the extension has a “unique architectural identity” from the California Science Center, which is clad in a sandy red brick.<\/p>\n

The 200,000 square foot (18,580 square metre) expansion is affixed to its side, and will double the exhibition space across the entire complex across four storeys.<\/p>\n

While the majority of building construction is completed, the Air and Space Center still needs to be filled with historic artefacts and interactive exhibits, including a fighter jet, ahead of a forthcoming opening date.<\/p>\n

\"SamuelThe Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center expansion is affixed to the side of the main building<\/p>\n

The building’s centrepiece is the retired NASA<\/a> spacecraft Space Shuttle Endeavour. Part of NASA’s Space Shuttle program, the orbiter was used for missions from 1992 until its 25th and last mission in 2011.<\/p>\n

The shuttle now stands upright in the Air and Space Center, wrapped in a 2,000-tonne tower, while the lower portion of the building features two tiers of textured metal, which cantilevers over the entry programme ground.<\/p>\n

\"SamuelA stainless-steel tower conceals a retired space shuttle. Photo courtesy of California Science Center<\/p>\n

“At the outset of this project we challenged ourselves to achieve something that has never been done before: to design the only place in the world for the public to see a space shuttle in launch position,” said ZGF partner Ted Hyman.<\/p>\n

“We are proud to deliver an iconic architecture that translates the California Science Center’s moonshot ambition into an approachable experience that feels welcoming, immersive, and engaging to all.”<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Portland<\/p>\n

ZGF Architects places nine-acre mass-timber roof on Portland airport terminal\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

According to the team, installation of the shuttle was a six-month process.<\/p>\n

“In early 2024, Space Shuttle Endeavour was lifted into its full stack vertical configuration, mated to real solid rocket boosters and ET-94, the last remaining flight-qualified external tank, and installed in its permanent home at the conclusion of a six-month process,” said the team.<\/p>\n

\"SamuelIt took six months to install the shuttle. Photo courtesy of California Science Center<\/p>\n

The expansion’s stacked, curvilinear design was also informed by the shuttle’s “aerodynamic, fluid geometry”.<\/p>\n

100 aerospace artefacts across 100 new exhibits will be installed in the Air and Space Center, across three main galleries.<\/p>\n

These objects include the Hawker Siddeley Harrier T.4 fighter jet, the Rocket Lab Electron launch vehicle and a Solid Rocket Booster segment.<\/p>\n

No opening date has been slated for the project as of now.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles has seen a number of larger projects nearing completion in the past year, including the curving\u00a0Los Angeles County Museum of Art\u00a0expansion by architect\u00a0Peter Zumthor<\/a> and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art designed by architecture studio MAD<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Space exploration is top of mind for many people at the moment, with the recent successful moon journey of the spacecraft Artemis II. Dezeen spoke with the architect<\/a> before the launch.<\/p>\n

The photography is by Mike Kelley<\/a> unless otherwise stated<\/p>\n

Project credits:
Architect: ZGF
General contractor: MATT Construction
Engineer: Arup
Steel fabricator: Plas-Tal Manufacturing
Scaffolding and shuttle protection: BrandSafway
Exhibit design: Evidence Design<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"American architecture studio ZGF‘s building in Los Angeles is complete with a full-size space shuttle “in launch position”…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":392346,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[437,434,435,436,4670,438,146,85,46,1900,448,449,145,2586,186735],"class_list":{"0":"post-392345","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-california","13":"tag-design","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-il","16":"tag-israel","17":"tag-los-angeles","18":"tag-sectionall","19":"tag-sectionarchitecture","20":"tag-space","21":"tag-usa","22":"tag-zgf-architects"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=392345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392345\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/392346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=392345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=392345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=392345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}