Set on a high creek-side bluff, about two miles from the beach, the main campus of Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is full of unrealized potential. The 142-acre tract on the Westside of Los Angeles has an architectural mix ranging from a neo–Spanish Colonial chapel and bell tower (circa 1954) to more modern-style structures, many from the 1960s through the ’80s. But “a lot of the existing buildings feel opaque and enclosed, instead of engaging the open space, or one another and the flow of people,” says SOM senior associate principal Carlos Madrid III. Even the “Alumni Mall”—the long grassy spine through the center of campus—lacks the overarching sense of procession it could have. But change is under way, with projects gradually modifying existing structures and introducing new ones. Most recently, two buildings by SOM—one for the university’s School of Film and Television (SFTV) and the other the open-air Drollinger Family Stage—have merged lighting with architecture to bring transparency, lyricism, and a distinctive identity to the campus.

The new School of Film and Television building (top and 1) and Drollinger Family Stage (2) are luminous additions to L.A.’s Loyola Marymount campus. Photos © Dave Burk, click to enlarge.