Several new buildings have been completed in Los Angeles within the last 10 years, earning worldwide accolades for achievement in design. Several more are either in development or on the drawing board.

All of the architects mentioned below have earned the Pritzker Prize. Additionally, the following buildings are all located Downtown, within easy walking distance of one another.

Caltrans District 7 Headquarters
Architect: Thom Mayne/Morphosis
Opened: 2004
Address: 100 S. Main Street
Features: This building is guaranteed to elicit strong reactions from viewers. But love it or hate it, the building can’t be ignored. Perforated metal panels create a skin that covers exposed structural elements, visible from inside the building’s walkways and interior spaces. At night, the
exterior panels open up to reveal windows. The south wall has a photovoltaic system capable of producing up to 5 percent of the building’s energy. Many of the building’s features are meant to evoke the state’s highway system, including the environmental art installation by Keith Sonnier in the outdoor lobby. The area consists of red and blue neon lights meant to suggest automobile
head and tail lights.

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
Architect: José Rafael Moneo
Opened: 2002
Address: 555 W. Temple Street
Features: A contemporary cathedral designed with virtually no right angles, this building breaks the mold of the classic European cathedral of the Middle Ages. And as the third largest cathedral in the world, the significance of this building is tied to more than just its architecture. It’s the seat of the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, serves more than 4 million Catholic worshippers and is the site of the Archbishop’s major liturgies. The exterior is sand-colored concrete, with an interior lit during the day by sunlight shining through thousands of alabaster panels. The large bronze doors by sculptor Robert Graham, the tapestries by artist John Nava and other works of art complete the building, making it well worth close inspection.

Walt Disney Concert Hall
Architect: Frank Gehry
Opened: 2003
Address: 111 S. Grand Avenue
Features: There aren’t many buildings in Los Angeles as recognizable as the Walt Disney Concert Hall at the Music Center. The stainless steel skin covers a framework of steel beams erected in the shape of billowing sails or flower petals, depending on your point of view. Inside, the building houses one of LA’s best concert venues, with an auditorium known as much for its
acoustics as its design.

U.S. Bank Tower (Library Tower)
Architect: I.M. Pei
Opened: 1989
Address: 633 W. Fifth Street
Features: The tallest building in the United States west of Chicago, this is one of LA’s most iconic pieces of architecture. With 1.3 million square feet, the U.S. Bank Tower is 73 stories tall and reaches a height of 1,018 feet. The design of the building features interlocking sets of granite planes and curves that step down in a series of terraces and ledges, creating a building that’s neither round nor square. A large glass “crown” on top of the building is illuminated at night, and in the lobby a giant mixed-media mural entitled Unity depicts the history of Los Angeles.