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The 96th Academy Awards have commenced! Once again, Hollywood’s biggest stars have descended upon the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. This year—as the celebration honors movies released in 2023, from Poor Things to Oppenheimer—the theater boasts a modern design with sweeping, curtain-like forms. The setup intends to draw every onlooker’s attention to the people on stage.

Co-production designers Alana Billingsley and Misty Buckley set out “to create a modern plaza that invites people in,” Billingsley tells House Beautiful. She explains: “[It’s] a grand yet intimate space for framing the achievements of this year’s filmmakers. Every line and texture is designed to flatter and bring focus to the humans who will inhabit the space throughout the evening.”

Photo credit: Richard Harbaugh

Photo credit: Richard Harbaugh

Photo credit: Richard Harbaugh
The pair drew inspiration from the works of architect Tadao Ando, who is best known for his minimalist concrete structures and has built homes for celebrities including Kim Kardashian, and Oscar Niemeyer, an early exponent of modern architecture featuring curves and concrete. For the tone of the Oscars stage surfaces, Billingsley and Buckley referenced the cut stone and plaster finishes of classical architecture.

Kevin Winter – Getty Images
Billingsley and Buckley were also behind last year’s stage design. The Art Deco display was an ode to the moviegoing experience—and it just so happened to make it less likely for an attendee to storm the stage à la Will Smith circa 2022. Rows of seating replaced the spread-out tables of years past, and they stuck with the same design solution this year.

We can’t wait to see how the rest of the show plays out on stage. We were especially eager to learn that Poor Things, our pick for the Best Production Design, took home the award tonight. Congrats!