Site
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Adjacent to a public golf course and community center at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. |
Client
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A collaborative effort between public and private entities: a municipal agency, the local historical society and a private family foundation. |
Square Footage
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4,000 SF |
Program/Scope
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New museum and exhibit designed to house and display the collection of the historical society. |
Budget / Construction Cost
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$930,000 |
Construction / Materials
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Type V construction with wood louver façade, brick, C.M.U., concrete and wood. |
This new museum houses a permanent collection as well as a continually rotating exhibit depicting the history of this area of the San Gabriel valley. The program includes a multi-purpose room and archival area, a curatorial office, and both interior and exterior exhibit spaces. Clerestory windows and focused views provide natural light to the galleries. Views of the nearby mountains are incorporated into the exhibit as the historical is juxtaposed with the present. Relationships to the site and existing community center west of the museum are created through geometric and material references to the context.
The design was inspired through an in-depth analysis of the complex relationship between the historian who records the past and the museum visitor experiencing the present. Central to this relationship is the notion that history is understood through second and third generation sources. Since these sources all interpret history through their own biases, they act as filters which affect the original event. To understand history one must not only understand one’s own relationship to the original event, but must be aware of the historian’s relationship to that event. This historical museum does not seek to emulate the historian, nor does it pretend to be free of bias; it strives to heighten the visitor’s awareness of the existence of these filters.
The design process began with the development of a conceptual viewing apparatus, which explored the impact of filters on what and how an object is viewed. This construct was translated into an architecture that changes dramatically based on the position of the observer. When viewed at a right angle, the façade dissolves as one looks through the wood louver screen; at an oblique angle, the façade appears solid.
The idea extended into the development of the exhibit which assumed a hyper-flexible and democratic approach, incorporating changeable elements including chalkboards for changing texts, corkboard frames for rotating displays, and movable open display cases which transform the space by their location, and invite hands-on interaction with the collection.
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