Orange County Museum of Art
Costa Mesa, California
Best Cultural/Cult
Presented by: Clark Construction
Region: ENR California
Owner: Orange County Museum of Art
Main design company: Architects Morphosis
General contractor: Clark Construction
Civil engineer: KPFF
Structural engineer: John A. Martin & Associates Inc. (NEVER)
MEP Engineer: Engineering Bureau Happold
Facade engineer: Walter P Moore
Architect: morphosis
Landscape architect: OJB Landscape
Steel erector: Pro Steel Erectors Inc.
Structure, plaster and plaster: Infinity Drywall
Owner’s representative: O’Connor Consulting
Geotechnical engineer: Leighton Consultancy
Subcontractors: Advanced equipment; AJ Kirkwood; American Direct; American landscape; Angelus waterproofing; Anning Johnson; Armstrong; Bali; Better Recruitment; Gate of California; CMC Rebar; Coan concrete; Cor-Ray; Fabric Wallcraft; Frank S. Smith; General coatings; infinite plasterboard; Integrated Martin; McKendry; Mitsubishi; Pan Pacific Mechanics; Paving decoration; Precast Solutions Inc.; Pro Steel; Roschmann; S2N; Shaw & Sons; Sheward & Son & Sons; Sky Climber; Southwest Steel; Spooner’s Carpentry; Stumbaugh
Although terra cotta tiles have been used in buildings around the world for centuries, the team behind the new Orange County Museum of Art outside Los Angeles upped the bet on what is possible.
“The owner came in with a bold vision and really wanted the construction and design of the museum to match his vision,” says Jane Parry, project executive for Clark Construction, the project’s general contractor.
The museum, a 53,000-square-foot addition to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, features open and flexible spaces, including a light-filled atrium and grand exterior staircase designed to be a community gathering place . But the building’s most striking feature is its exterior facade, a collection of light-colored glazed terracotta panels that mimic the curves and angles of the building, almost appearing undulating, Parry says. “Getting this natural clay product to behave the way they wanted, to be able to meet those curves and maintain the tolerances needed for construction, was crucial,” he says.
Subcontractors Boston Valley Terra Cotta and Best Contracting worked with project architect Morphosis to push the material’s forming capabilities to make it more malleable. More than 6,000 individual tiles were manufactured using extrusion methods that reduced their weight while maintaining their strength. Although 70% of the tiles were flat, others were hung over wooden forms to create specific bends or curves. The construction team used a custom trim system to mount the tiles to the building’s exterior frame in a way that matches the complex geometry of the building.
Photo courtesy of Clark Construction
The museum itself is designed to be a “post-COVID building,” says Heidi Zuckerman, the museum’s director. “You walk into a nice, warm, light-filled space. It’s not stuffy.”
