Eames Institute plans a museum in a former California warehouse
The Eames Institute plans to turn a former warehouse in Novato, California, into a museum devoted to Charles and Ray Eames. Herzog & de Meuron and EHDD will adapt the existing building, while Field Operations designs its grounds. Construction is expected to begin in 2028, with public openings projected from 2030.
Arts··Midday
The warehouse will become a public museum
The Eames Institute, an institution preserving the work of designers Charles and Ray Eames, has released updated plans for a museum in Novato, California, in the United States. Architecture practices Herzog & de Meuron and EHDD will adapt a warehouse and office building on the property. The institute bought the site in 2025 to exhibit its furniture and other Eames objects. Groundbreaking is expected in 2028, with openings projected to begin in 2030.[1], [2]
A bridge will cross the galleries
Jan Lubicz-Nycz and John Savage Bolles designed the buildings for publisher McGraw-Hill in 1965. The warehouse’s concrete roof will remain exposed above open galleries. Visitors will enter a wood-clad arrival area with admissions and a shop, then reach a stainless-steel bridge by a grand stair. The programme includes wood and ceramic workshops, a cafe and a 275-seat theatre. The former office building will become an events pavilion.[1]
Field Operations adds gardens and play spaces
Landscape practice Field Operations joins the project with gardens, children’s play spaces and a revised arrival sequence. Its scheme draws on Tito Patri’s earlier landscape plan, which used earth berms to buffer the buildings from the adjoining highway. North and south gardens, native stormwater gardens and custom outdoor furniture are included in the new design.[1]
