Four years after the start of its $105 million renovation, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego will reopen its flagship location in La Jolla. Set to reopen in April of 2022, the new designs by Selldorf Architects feature a nearly 50,000 square-foot expansion as well as updates throughout.
The updates to the museum, which is located at 700 Prospect Street, will now offer four times the original gallery space. With initial space totaling 28,000 square feet, the addition nearly doubles the museum’s square footage. Additionally, the updated museum will include a public park and added outdoor terraces overlooking the coast.
“Our goal for the museum was to allow the fantastic site and views of the Pacific Ocean to guide a coherent circulation path and instill a generous and inclusive spirit to bring people to the great collection of MCASD,” Principal Architect Annabelle Selldorf said.
According to Selldorf, the addition is situated along the southern portion of the campus and was built to the scale of the already existing stucco facility. The addition will feature a mix of materials, including cast-in-place concrete, travertine and aluminum. The expansion also adds a brand new entryway along the prominent Prospect Street, complete with an open, transparent lobby space and bookstore.
Further into the museum, gallery space will shift from its original 9,300 square feet to 38,950 square feet. The added square footage will allow the museum to feature both its current permanent collection as well as a number of rotating exhibits.
The new galley spaces will feature high ceilings and vertical windows that allow for natural light. The museum’s former Sherwood Auditorium has also been repurposed as a 7,000 square foot gallery and flexible event space.
“The addition to MCASD provides new gallery space to the south of the existing buildings. In shifting the center of gravity and entry sequence, we were able to knit together different geometries and achieve an overall volume of the museum that reads as one and nevertheless respects the presence of architectural expressions of multiple generations of the institution,” Selldorf said.
An existing parking lot and loading dock on the north end of the campus will also become a new public park. Other renovations include updated back-of-house spaces, including a new loading dock, art preparator’s room, freight elevator, art storage and two levels of below-grade parking.
“The architecture connects the experience of art to the experience of nature in a way that didn’t previously exist. The design rejects the notion of the hermetically sealed white cube and instead brings the outdoors into the museum space,” said Kathryn Kanjo, David C. Copley, Director and CEO of MCASD.
Since its founding in 1941, the MCASD has undergone a number of renovation projects and expansions at its La Jolla location. The museum began in philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps’ former home, which was originally built in 1916. Since then, the property has undergone several expansions by Mosher & Drew throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. In 1996, Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates also completed a restoration of the Scripps House facade and updated the garden and cafe.
MCASD has since expanded its locations to also include space in downtown San Diego. In 2007, MCASD also opened the Jacobs and Copley Buildings at the Santa Fe Depot. Currently, the museum is home to more than 5,600 pieces of artwork, from 1950 to present day.
With recent renovations, this will be the first time the museum is able to display its full collection along with rotating exhibits. For its inaugural exhibitions, the Museum will present a number of unique collections, including work from Niki de Saint Phalle in the 1960s; The Menil Collection; and Selections from the Collection, which will showcase the museum’s ties to the California Light & Space movement.
“MCASD’s flagship building is, at last, scaled to showcase the work it has collected over the past decades. Soaring ceilings and natural light allow for inviting displays of the collection alongside lively changing exhibitions,” Kanjo said.. “The design honors the Museum’s rich architectural history as it frames distinctive views of the village and the coast, providing an updated space for the art and for today’s audience.”
