I'm enormously pleased and proud to see my grandparents’ dream come to fruition in close collaboration with UCLA.” We need the greatest light in the world and live in the city that provides us with that opportunity.’ There certainly is light here. “The first thing that (lead architect) Michael Palladino said to us was, ‘These buildings are so dark, and you’re treating people who have eye challenges. “The motto of UCLA is ‘Let There Be Light,’” said Wasserman, president and chief executive officer of the Wasserman Foundation. Eighteen years later, he found himself participating in the ceremonial ribbon-cutting with his wife and children at Tuesday’s event. Inspired by the Wassermans’ signature eyewear, the spectacles pay homage to the couple’s infinite vision and long-standing commitment to preventing blindness and restoring eyesight.Ĭasey Wasserman, the grandson of Edie and Lew Wasserman, recalled that he was a UCLA senior when he attended his first architectural meeting about the Wasserman building with his grandfather in 1996. A stunning example of modern architecture dominated by clean lines, white terracotta and pale oak, the facility features floor-to-ceiling windows that flood the spacious rooms with natural light and reveal dramatic views of campus.Ī three-story glass wall surrounds the main lobby, where a sculpture of two oversized pairs of glasses commands the spotlight. They gave selflessly not only to enhance vision care, but also to establish undergraduate student scholarships in the UCLA College and graduate student fellowships in film production, among other gifts.”ĭesigned by Richard Meier and Partners Architects, the $115.6 million project is a LEED gold-certified 'green,' six-story building encompassing 100,000 square feet.

“It is an enduring legacy of Edie and Lew Wasserman, who were among UCLA’s most ardent enthusiasts. “This world-class complex culminates years of planning to ensure the effective use of several exceptionally generous gifts to benefit the public,” Chancellor Gene Block said, noting the facility’s diverse uses for patient care, medical research and physician training across multiple fields. Named to honor the late philanthropists Edie and Lew Wasserman, whose generosity made the striking structure possible, the state-of-the-art facility will meet the expanding needs of the Stein Eye Institute and provide space for UCLA’s Department of Neurosurgery and Institute of Urologic Oncology. Campus officials dedicated the Edie & Lew Wasserman Building, a new landmark research and patient-care facility at UCLA, at a festive ceremony on Tuesday, Oct.

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