The Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity, an independent 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to preserving the legacy of Ray and Charles Eames, has announced its plan to transform the historic Birkenstock campus in Marin County into a world-class art and design museum. 

The project aims to enhance public access to innovative design programming and immersive art experiences. 

With great respect for the architectural past of its buildings, the San Francisco-based executive architects EHDD and the Swiss design architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron are in charge of creating the campus's vision.

The Institute intends to transform the famous modernist structures into a museum that will house a variety of immersive art shows, makerspaces and workshops, high-impact educational programming, accessible public open space, and retail and culinary options. Among other collections and works, the museum will feature the Eames Collection and family archives.

Image is courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron

"To share my grandparents’ vision with the world is the honor of a lifetime," said Llisa Demetrios, Chief Curator of the Eames Institute. 

"Ray and Charles’ boundless curiosity for solving problems through design has been at the core of the Eames Institute’s mission, and this expansion will allow us to share those gifts with our community on an even larger scale," Demetrios added.

The 166,000-square-foot (15,422 square-meters) facility, which is situated on an 88.5-acre plot of land at 8171 Redwood Blvd. in the city of Novato, just north of San Francisco, consists of an office building and a warehouse. With its undulating roof that protrudes over the landscape, the warehouse building achieved symbol status, even though the campus has been mainly closed to the public for the majority of its existence. 

Image © Iwan Baan

The site will be transformed into a vibrant and active public area, and the mid-century modern warehouse and office building will be adaptively reused, according to a conceptual design by the Swiss architecture company Herzog & de Meuron.

The facility will help realize the Institute's overarching goal of providing the public with more influential art and design education. Numerous new opportunities, jobs, and tax income are anticipated to be brought to the local community by the long-dormant property. 

In line with the main goals stated in the General Plan of the City of Novato and the Marin Countywide Plan to create a cultural hub with fresh art, events, and shopping options, the museum is positioned to be a major economic driver for both the City of Novato and Marin County. A programmatic plan for the Eames Institute's programs in the area is presently being developed.

Image © Iwan Baan

"We are honored to collaborate with the Eames Institute on this Bay Area project — a region which has significantly shaped our practice through key projects including the de Young Museum in San Francisco," said Simon Demeuse, Partner at Herzog & de Meuron. 

"Drawing on our expertise of adapting historic structures, most notably the Tate Modern in London, we are thrilled to now help transform this modernist campus into a vibrant public arts destination serving the Bay Area and beyond," Demeuse added.

Image courtesy of Eames Institute

John Savage Bolles, a prominent modernist architect with significant ties to the Bay Area who is best known for creating Candlestick Park and the IBM Campus in San Jose, originally created the campus in the 1960s for the publishing house McGraw-Hill. From 1994 to 2019, the Birkenstock firm was based on the campus. 

"The Eames legacy is a cultural treasure, and the Institute’s new campus will be a platform to share this more broadly than ever before," said David C. Howse, President of California College of the Arts. 

"The news is incredibly exciting — creating a destination for the public to immerse themselves in design, while providing an unparalleled learning experience for our students," C. Howse added.

Image courtesy of Eames Institute

The Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity that was founded in 2019 and made public in 2022. Its mission is to further the vibrant legacy of 20th-century designers Ray and Charles Eames. 

The top image in the article is courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron.

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