CurbedLA reports (via the L.A. Wave) on the progress of the Downey Landing project’s Columbia Memorial Space Science Learning Center: it’s under construction! The building is at the heart of the 160-acre site that Downey purchased away from NASA and Boeing, a massive development that will house everything from retail space (Best Buy, Ross) to medical facilities and sites dedicated to the city’s aviation history.

More important is that the Columbia Memorial Space Science Learning Center looks, well, good. In its renderings, the building appears appropriately clean and modern, free of some of the masturbatory materials that are bound to send so many contemporary buildings out of style in ten years. It’s even better when you consider that all this comes from a city still struggling to save Johnie’s Broiler and still pinning some of its fame to McDonald’s

Tags: architecture, curbedla, downey, downey landing project, nasa, space travel