Orange County Museum of Art / Morphosis Architects
Text description provided by the architects. With flexible exhibition galleries, dedicated space for educational programming, and areas for public gatherings, OCMA’s new building will provide expanded access to the museum’s permanent collection, which comprises important works of modern and contemporary art, and to its world-class special exhibition program.
The overall design of the building addresses the need for museum space to be both flexible and functional as well as inviting and memorable. It choreographs a rich and diverse visitor experience, from approach and entry to procession through the galleries, and finally, an invitation to linger on the steps, in the café, or in the museum shop.
By creating a gradient of architectural intensity, from complex forms at the museum’s entry to rectilinear and flexible forms within the galleries, the building is a memorable and striking environment for formal and informal experiences with art. Its strong relationship between indoor and outdoor space encourages visitors to immerse themselves in the celebrated climate of Southern California, where light, air, and space have influenced generations of artists.
A high-performance façade of white terracotta tiles creates a sweeping form that wraps from exterior to interior and plays off the forms and palette of neighboring works of architecture.
