A building tells a story whether the Architect and builders want it to or not. Through out the centuries one can look at buildings and determine the value a society placed on the structure or institution. At one time castles where the largest and highest structures built. Churches and monasteries had their time. Currently a lot of the largest and most dominating structures belong to banks and other financial institutions. Often the materials used are also informative. Some structures are built for utilitarian ends, the materials dependable and reasonably affordable. Other buildings have something to say. Stone tile and travertine tile create a feeling of timeless elegance. Perhaps no building has recently employed travertine tile as effectively as the Getty Center in Los Angeles.
Travertine is a sedimentary rock. Travertine is created by geothermal activity and consists of carbonate minerals. Travertine is a limestone and has many pores. liquid seeps through the limestone and interacts with and dissolves the carbonate. The mineral rich water finds its way to the surface where it evaporates leaving behind deposits of either aragonite or calcite. These minerals continue to build up into a solid deposit. This becomes travertine. The chemical interaction reliant on temperature and CO2 levels. This is why travertine is found near geothermal hot springs. A Travertine surface has pores and fossils that give it character.
The Getty Center on the hills above Los Angeles took time to develop. It was built on a ridge top above the 405 overlooking the Los Angeles Basin. There was opposition to the project because it was one of the last natural vistas being destroyed. Today, many of the original critics are supporters of the project. The Getty Center is available to the public. It is an elegant homage to ancient castles. It is a public private retreat. The structure and its surroundings are as beautiful as the art housed within. One of the stunning components of the project is the use of travertine as a primary theme.
The travertine blocks are rough and filled with crystalline deposits and fossils. They catch the shadows of the sun as it moves through the day. The Getty Center used 1.2 million square feet of Travertine. The travertine used weighs 16,000 tons. The rock was cleft-cut from quarries in Bagni di Tivoli, 15 miles outside of Rome. Caution was taken to retain the fossilized plants and feather sections. The white amber stone is a perfect match for the California sun. During the midday hours the Getty Center glows white on the hill. As the day goes on, the light pulls out the honey color, and the rocks glow red with the setting of the sun.
The Getty Center employees travertine to its best effect in a dramatic design. These mineral rich rocks seem to grant the same kind of peace one might have achieved sitting in the springs near which they came.
