In Costa Mesa, work continues for the Orange County Museum of Art's new home

Exterior staircaseMorphosis

OCMA, which is currently operating out of a temporary space at South Coast Plaza in Santa Ana, is relocating to a new 53,000-square now under construction at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.  The roughly $75-million project will include exhibition space and multipurpose areas dedicated for educational courses and performances, in addition to a gift shop, a cafe, and administrative offices.

The new building, which is being designed by Morphosis, is a steel-frame structure characterized by curved and jagged forms.  Plans call for a rooftop sculpture terrace which will double as space for events with up to 1,000 attendees.  The building's interior includes an atrium and lobby, with large windows providing natural light from the roof terrace.

View from Argyros PlazaMorphosis

OCMA's new home, which will double the size of the museum's original facility in Newport Beach, is now on pace to open in late 2022.  That represents a slightly delay from the 2021 completion date anticipated at the start of construction in 2019.

For a closer look at the new building, visit the museum's official website.

The project is the latest in a series of museum revamps and expansion in Southern California, joining a controversial rebuild of LACMA, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

Construction of OCMAKelvin Cheng

Besides OCMA, Morphosis is also designing the proposed Korean American National Museum in Koreatown.

  • OCMA (Urbanize LA)