Architectural Record reports on WHY’s design for the Marciano Art Foundation

“Masonic temples tend be curious buildings—largely windowless and laced with cryptic symbols—and the one on Wilshire Boulevard, in Los Angeles, is no exception. Monumental and blocky, with heroic statues along its facade, the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple has always had an imposing yet enigmatic presence, punctuated by ciphers, such as an eye, a spear-skewered heart, and drafting compasses, across its travertine shell. For all its grandeur, however, the secretive 110,000-square-foot building languished vacant for years. But this onetime palace of ritual has recently come back to life as the Marciano Art Foundation (MAF)—a repurposing by the design firm wHY that simultaneously lays bare, embraces, and transcends the venue’s abundant idiosyncrasies.”

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