With its exquisite stainless steel exterior and complex postmodern style the Walt DIsnet Concert Hall is a remarkable building. With sleek curves and intricate structural patterns matched by no other similar function building in the United States, Disney Hall possesses genuine architectural merit.


The architect, Frank Gehry, is known for using warped forms in his designs. Gehry rebels against the idea that form follows function. Reflections of L.A. sunlight off of the matte finish and informal contour add to the aesthetic quality. Home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and Los Angeles Master Chorale, Disney Hall's acoustics played a major role in its construction. The walls and ceiling are finished with Douglas-fir wood, and the floor is made out of authentic oak. Reverberation time within the 2265 seat hall is approximately two seconds while occupied. The concert organ is one of the hall's most unusual features; Gehry and organ designer Manuel Rosales created an instrument with curved wooden pipes.
From the outset, Gehry envisioned a 367,000 square foot concert hall that would cover one square block of land and a donation of fifty million dollars by Lillian Disney, widow of Walt Disney, made this possible. Construction of the hall began in 1992 and by the time the structure was completed in 2003, project costs exceeded $270 m.