On the western ridge of the site is located the Getty Research Institute for the History of Art and the Humanities, comprising the library, reading rooms, study carrels, office space for scholars and staff and an exhibits gallery.

Here, the building's curved form evokes the essentially introspective nature of scholarly activity. The form of the building will encourage scholars to explore in the open stacks. The entire building is a sequence of spaces related to one another both horizontally and vertically.

The Conservation Institute, Education Institute for the Arts and the Grant Program building will have its own precinct of gardens and outdoor terraces in scale with its spaces. Of all the buildings, it particularly invokes a "California" expression due to its openness and the ease in which one can move from interior to exterior space.

The 450-seat Auditorium adjacent to the Getty Trust offices, will mark the end of the complex's long east elevation. The materials chosen for the exterior cladding will reinforce the balance envisioned between building and site. Rough cleft travertine , a stone evoking traditionalism and endurance, has been used throughout the Getty Center offering a connection to the landscape . Modular metal panels compliment the travertine and the topography of the site.