Frederick Fisher and Partners

Galef Center for Fine Arts and Ben Maltz Gallery

Otis College of Art and Design
Los Angeles, California
"We conceived the Otis studio building as an art factory based on the ethos of art making.
The structure is simple, tough, flexible, open and practical with an emphasis on daylight."
Fred Fisher

Otis College of Art & Design, founded in 1918 near downtown Los Angeles, moved to its
current West Los Angeles location in 1997. The existing seven story office building, designed by
Elliot Noyes in 1965, served many of the school's functions well, but its low ceilings and lack of
adequate daylight made it inadequate for a number of important functions.

An open site, adjacent to the original building on Lincoln Boulevard, was selected by the College
to accommodate the new 40,000-square-feet studio/gallery building.
The new studio building now houses large-scale sculpture, painting, drawing, ceramic and video
studios, critique rooms and offices. It also houses the Ben Maltz Gallery for traveling professional
shows as well as the Bolsky Gallery for student exhibitions.
 The building is sheathed in silver-painted corrugated aluminium. This visually active
material, which reflects the sky and landscape, was selected for its reference to industrial
structures. The ground-level studios feature floor-to-ceiling glazing, which affords students views
of outside activities, and those outdoors a glimpse of activity inside.

Each of the building's four elevations has its own

distinct, graphic composition, reflecting the variety of activities occurring on the inside of the
building.
Large expanses of glass open up the metal cube to daylight and views, creating abstract
patterns of solid and void on the building's surface. External staircases and a glass-enclosed
elevator tower provide a dynamic counterpoint to these flattened, collage-like elevations.
 Square in plan, the building is designed to achieve maximum economy and flexibility. The
structural frame has only four interior columns per 20,000-square-feet floor, allowing for
modifications to interior wall to accommodate varied modes of art making. Daylight functions as a
predominant material in all areas of the building.
 The building's orientation on the site, angled with respect to the existing building and
Lincoln Boulevard, establishes three main triangular outdoor areas which extend the functions of
the building into the landscape, creating an entry plaza, outdoor work area, and an outdoor
exhibition space.

Project Size: 40,000-square-feet

Completion Date: August 10, 2002
Frederick Fisher, Principal
Joseph Coriaty, Partner
Brent Eckerman, Associate
John Berley
Bianca Spies
Daniel Herman
Koray Duman
Wendi Gilbert
Jae Shin