Recently unveiled renderings of the think tank in the Brentwood Hills slated for completion in five years, has locals divided.
Last month, renderings were released of the Berggruen Institute: a 447-acre futuristic-looking campus near the Mountaingate Country Club in the Santa Monica Mountains. The Berggruen Institute was created by billionaire philanthropist Nicolas Berggruen.
Founded in 2010, the mission of the Institute is to study and apply new ideas to the workings of social, economic and political institutions.
Most of the sprawling land that the institute will sit on is set to remain as open space, but there will be a 137,000-square-foot building 12 feet above sea level.
The focus on the design by architects Herzog & de Meuron, includes two spheres, which the architects say, “complement the rectangular frame of the Institute.”
Those designs will include a wrap around courtyard with 250-seats rising 45 feet above the building. There will also be a 26,000-square-foot residential complex with 15 units for visiting scholars , plus yet another 26,000-square-foot compound with residential and dining facilities, and a library and conference room.
The Institute will have a “linear park”, drought-tolerant landscaping and use recyclable water.
The campus could be completed within five years.
Executive Vice President for the Berggruen Institute, Dawn Nakagawa, believes the institute will be a welcome addition to the community. Resident Teri Kahn believes otherwise. Please read their dueling Op-Eds on pages 14 and 15.
