Eric Richardson [Flickr]

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — The Walt Disney Concert Hall's matte exterior is in the process of getting a little bit shinier, as a crew works to give the structure its annual cleaning. The work is timed to have the building in top condition for the LA Phil's new season, which kicks off with an Opening Night Gala on October 2nd.

Leticia Rhi Buckley of the Music Center said that the annual cleaning is a complicated affair, taking several weeks to complete.

The Frank Gehry-designed Concert Hall opened in 2003, and quickly became an internationally recognized landmark. Along with the hall itself, the structure features a public garden and walkway that takes visitors up around the exterior skin.

Gehry has been hired as the lead architect for phase I of the Grand Avenue Project, slated to rise across Grand Avenue from the Concert Hall. That project is expected to break ground in 2009.