Building the Never Built

When Claudia Kincaid from “From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler” ran away from home, she slept at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in a rebellion from her parents and a desire to be independent. Similarly, Tommy Musca (’14) slept at the Architecture and Design Museum for a week, but rather than a teenage angst, faced the challenge to construct a model for the museum’s new exhibit “Never Built” with 67,000 Legos. It would soon become North America’s largest Lego model outside Legoland.The Architecture Design Museum opened in January 2001 on Los Angeles’ Museum Row and holds exhibitions, symposiums and educational programs. Musca created the exhibit to showcase what L.A. could have looked like if various architecturally proposed projects had been built.The world of architecture opened its doors for Musca in 2003 after he won a competition at the Natural History Museum to design “the museum of the future.” During the summers before entering high school, Musca became fascinated with architecture and interned at various architectural firms in L.A.“Never Built” was publicized through radio interviews and a $40,000 Kickstater campaign that Musca helped start. “The Santa Monica Daily Press” and “The Los Angeles Times” featured the show on their front pages. Musca said he built the show to inspire the people of L.A. to look more closely at the city’s architecture.“The idea is for L.A. to dream big again,” Musca said. “It’s a look at these projects that will help [us say] say ‘Maybe we can demand more from our city.’”During the summer of 2012, the Architecture Design Museum awarded Musca the title of “Assistant Curator,” for “Never Built.” Musca was in charge of the electrical work for the monorail as well as his proposed model for the exhibition. He proposed to build a Lego model of Lloyd Wright’s design for a cathedral, which would have been the Basilica for the Catholic Church in L.A., but the project was never approved.With the assistance of Clive Wilkinson, the designer of the show and a world-renowned interior designer, Musca began designing and planning the model.“I only had very basic sketches to work with, so I worked with AutoCAD and came up with a blueprint,” Musca said. “It took me four months to design and one week of sleeping at the museum to build — around the clock, a 140-hour work week.”The exhibition opened on July 27 with an audience of 1,500 people. According to Musca, most architects experience a highlight in their career when they first make it in the world of architecture. Musca had a taste of the excitement and success that architects dream about at only age 17.“‘Never Built’ [is] by far the museum’s most successful show. The crowd before ‘Never Built’ [included] architects and artisans, but the show has really opened it up to all of Los Angeles intellectuals,” Musca said.In addition to constructing the centerpiece for the exhibit, Musca also assisted in researching for “Never Built Los Angeles,” a book written by the curators. It is currently the number one best-selling architecture book on Amazon. The curators spent three years collecting information — Musca joined the project a year before the opening.“We have all been getting a good amount of press from this. The whole idea is to generate enough buzz so the show can travel,” Musca said.The show closes on Oct. 13, and the “Never Built” team hopes the show will continue to thrive and allow them to travel.The exhibition’s ability to travel may allow the team to bring their work to Bordeaux, France this spring. In the case that the exhibit travels, Musca will receive commission.Musca’s personal interest in architecture will continue after high school, as he intends to major in architecture. Although Musca isn’t sure when the next time he’ll have as great a success as “Never Built,” he hopes to pursue architecture as a career.“It’s the only profession that can both physically and metaphorically shape a city,” Musca said.Musca anticipates the day when others will observe his work and give him constructive feedback, because this is the true test to see if he has “made it.”“If I can actually translate my ideas to reality, and one of my designs makes it to fruition, I look forward to the first negative critical review,” Musca said. “I figure then someone cared enough about my design’s impact to write something about it.”An aspiring architect, the Legos of Musca’s childhood have become the building blocks of his future.fbillington@thesamohi.com