project size:
6,300 square foot gallery renovation on the ground floor of an existing 128,000 s.f. six story mid-rise.

project context:
In 2014 a prominent art and design school purchased 128,000 square feet, six story mid-rise at the end of the historic 110 freeway. By its position in the city, and its sheer scale, the building functions as a marker into the city and will soon become the gateway to the school’s south campus. The building represents a great urban opportunity for the school. This is particularly true for the ground floor and the way it relates to the public realm. The small donor named gallery on the ground floor of the building, was analyzed in the context of city. Through that study, we realized the project needed to be turned inside out to function as a gallery, a signifier for the school and a cultural destination in the city.

project program:
The expansive 6,300 square foot gallery space is programmed to function as a fine art gallery and an automotive gallery, in keeping with the donor’s passions and prolific car collection, and the school’s dedication to innovation in transportation design. The gallery program includes reception, gallery, exterior court, offices, storage and loading areas. In conjunction with the project a new lobby, student commons, vertical circulation elements, exterior surface parking and landscape was also designed.

design approach:
The automobile itself became both an object of art and an instrument for viewing art in the development of the project. The use of the turning radius / path of an automobile runs through the interior spaces, out of the building envelope to the exterior. These pathways form the curving walls that organize the gallery, the exterior courtyard, and the parking / garden areas beyond.

This language of curved walls was used to form all the discrete elements of the project; gallery walls, reception desk, exterior walls, benches, and planters. In particular, the wall that separates the gallery courtyard from the street became a key design feature. This protective barrier needed to be both visible as a sign and invisible to allow views into the gallery from the street. The ‘fin wall’ is the result of a series of design studies exploring this paradox. The car as an instrument for viewing helped to establish signage on the oblique from afar and views straight in on the perpendicular while passing by. This ‘lenticular ‘effect allows the fin wall to read ‘Mullin’ when viewing north, morphing to open views into the interior when viewing west and then reading ‘Gallery’ when viewing south. This simple gesture helps to further signify the presence of the school in the urban and cultural landscape of the city.