Completed in 2021

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA), originally designed by Kevin Roche with landscapes by Dan Kiley, has been a brutalist landmark since 1969. Its terraced gardens were conceived to blur the boundaries between galleries and the natural world, but fears during the civil rights movement led to the museum being walled off from the city. The recent $20 million renovation dismantles these barriers, both physically and symbolically, by opening sections of the 20-foot concrete walls, creating new entries, and adding a welcoming porch and grand stairs that reconnect the institution to Lake Merritt and the surrounding community. This transformation reimagines OMCA not as a fortified enclave but as a civic partner woven into the daily lives of Oaklanders.
 

Central to the renovation is an ecological celebration of California’s diverse landscapes, with new plantings that represent the state’s major ecoregions—Mediterranean, high desert, coastal scrub, woodland, and coastal forest. The revitalized gardens integrate performance spaces, sculpture installations by artists like Ruth Asawa and Peter Voulkos, and immersive planting design that evolves seasonally. Sustainability drives the project, with a phased, 15-year soil and planting approach that avoids high-carbon interventions while nurturing the site’s existing ecology. By honoring Roche and Kiley’s original vision while adapting it for contemporary needs, OMCA has renewed its mission to serve as a cultural and ecological commons—one that celebrates California’s natural and artistic richness while fostering dialogue, community, and connection.

https://museumca.org/