Howard Building Corporation

Project Description

The Orange County Museum of Art project consisted of a renovation of the interior entry hall known as The Pavilion as well as an exterior courtyard area. The hall had previously been underutilized, with admissions and the museum store greeting visitors at the entrance and little more happening in the space. The architecture firm Bauer and Wiley was asked to create a space that would not only provide additional gallery display space, but also afford the opportunity for the Museum to host community events and activities. By reconfiguring the space, opening up an entire wall to the outside, and refinishing major portions of the walls to allow more space for art, The Pavilion became a vibrant space central to the programming of the Museum.

To utilize the space for art, a suspended drywall system was attached to all of the interior walls, some of which had acted, at one point in the history of the Museum, as exterior CMU walls. Suspended drywall ceiling segments aligned with wall segments and create an architectural definition of the spave above. A new reception area, a complete food service area, and an artichoke shaped control room defined by vertical coves of light arrayed around the exterior create the new heart of The Pavilion. A bar on the opposite side of the “artichoke” serves the expansive event venue portion of the space.

To further expand the event area, the entire west wall of the Pavilion was shored up, removed, and reconstrucred for installation of sectional glass retractable doors and new glass transoms above. The entire ceiling system in this area was removed and replaced with a new suspended metal pan ceiling, and the concrete tile was removed and replaced with a patterned polished concrete floor. The exterior court yard lies outside the new openings in the west wall, with 6,000 square feet of additional event space. Existing concrete was demolished and new retaining walls, planters, entry ramp, and landscaping installed. A fiberglass canopy extends overhead, and a large projection screen stretches between two structural posts, completing the space.

Honors