Academy hires architects Renzo Piano and Zoltan Pali to design movie museum

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is one step closer to finally creating a museum dedicated to the movies in Los Angeles. The Academy announced Wednesday that it has picked the two architects who will design the museum.

Award-winning architects Renzo Piano and Zoltan Pali were hired to create the design. Both are acclaimed architects who have handled big projects in the past.

In 1998, Piano won the Pritzker Prize, the highest honor in the architecture world. He is the founder of the Renzo Piano Building Workshop, which has offices in Paris, Geno and New York. Some of his major designs include the New York Times headquarters, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the Central St. Giles Court in London. The Los Angeles Times reports that Piano also worked on the LACMA, remaking the western half of the museums campus.

Pali is a Los Angeles native who co-founded the Studio Pali Fekete architects firm. The firm has won numerous LA awards and Pali oversaw the restorations of several LA landmarks such as the the Gibson Amphitheatre and the Pantages Theatre.

Renzos track record of creating iconic cultural landmarks combined with Zoltans success in transforming historically-significant buildings is a perfect marriage for a museum that celebrates the history and the future of the movies, Dawn Hudson, Academy CEO, said.

In October of last year, it was reported that the Academy would work with LACMA to create a museum using the old May Co. building what was known as LACMA West. The iconic art-deco style building will now be home to a museum dedicated to the film industry.

The Academy made the decision after abandoning a pricey 2005 plan to work with French architect Christian de Portzamparc to create a museum from scratch.

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Academy hires architects Renzo Piano and Zoltan Pali to design movie museum