ORCHID FOR ARCHITECTURE

Jury Comments: This slick, cool addition to a museum dedicated to regional artists is very straightforward with a minimalist approach that speaks of a refinement and economy of means. The architect shows his maturity and mastery with a palette of exposed concrete floors and steel plate stair rails. The building is set back behind a generous terrace that can accommodate opening night crowds in an indoor-outdoor space. A retractable glass wall allows views into the lobby and illuminates the Museum like a beacon at night. The addition is a compatible scale with the historic Irving Gill buildings that flank it. The jury felt that this was one of the most sophisticated buildings in North County.

When Oceanside Museum of Art planned the construction of a new, Central Pavilion that would join its Irving Gill designed building (Oceanside's 1934 City Hall) with the Gill Firehouse #1 (1929), a chief concern was to select a modernist architect who works in a clear 21st century style and whose design aesthetic reflected Gill's proto-modernist sensitivity for proportion, scale, and simplicity. Frederick Fisher understood the need to respect and honor Gill's legacy while delivering to the museum an important new building with its own identity and integrity.

His design gives the museum a new entry with a spacious lobby that through the use of large sliding glass doors can join the lobby and terrace, seating 250 guests for al fresco dining and special events. It also provides two handsome gallery spaces, a catering kitchen, and a complex of administrative offices and board room. The full basement is completed with exhibition/publication production shops and museum collection storage facilities. The 16,000 sq. ft. structure was designed and built for $5.8 million. It was completed and opened to the public on March 2, 2008. General Contractor was PCL Construction Services, Inc.

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