LACMA isn’t the only museum in town planning a significant redo in Los Angeles. The Petersen Automotive Museum, just across and down Wilshire Boulevard from LACMA, has retained Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) to imagine a radical redesign of the exterior of the museum’s home, a former department store. Museum officials have stated the time has come to finally retrofit the building to be more suitable for its program. This early design sketch, above, is just one of several that KPF has been presenting to museum directors.

The museum will be selecting their preferred concept sometime in August and will be revealing the final design when it hosts a discussion outlining its goals on August 18th. KPF’s new shell treatment is just one aspect of The Petersen’s ambitious near-total overhaul, which includes updating displays and galleries and incorporating more current technology to provide what it calls “an immersive museum experience.”

Judging from this initial rendering the museum’s new appearance will be a striking presence on this prominent corner and will vie for attention with Zumthor’s black blob for LACMA. Look for more details on the design at AN once the final concept is released.