Water + Life Museums and Campus / Lehrer Architects and Gangi Architects

Jan 2011

Uploaded by Kelly Minner — Filed under: Museums and Libraries ,Selected ,Sustainability , California, Gangi Architects, Hemet, LEED Platinum, Lehrer Architects, USA

▼

Add this to My Bookmarks:

share by email

share by email

The Water + Life Museums and Campus celebrate the infrastructure of water and its central role in the evolution of life and development in California. The first LEED Platinum Museums in the world, the design aims to place beauty and sustainability — an inseparable couplet — at the center of its agenda as an environmental showcase. The 15 acre campus houses two museums, Water – The Center for Water Education and Life – The Western Center for Archaeology & Paleontology.

Architects: Lehrer Architects and Gangi Architects
Location: Hemet, California, USA
LEED Consultant: Zinner Consultants
MEP Engineer: IBE Consulting Engineers
Structural Engineer: Nabih Youseff & Associates
Civil Engineer: KPFF Consulting Engineers
Landscape Architect: Mia Lehrer + Associates
Solar Power Consultant: Vector Delta Design Group
Lighting: Prudential Lighting
Contractor: Lehrer, Gangi Architects
Owners: Metropolitan Water District, Western Center for Archaeology & Paleontology
Project Area: 70,000 sqf
Project Year: 2007
Photographs: Fotoworks, Michael Lehrer

The Water and Life Museums are born of the construction of Diamond Valley Lake (DVL), the largest man-made water storage lake in North America. Set in the semi-arid Southern California desert near Hemet, DVL is an integral part of the state’s water infrastructure. The lake provides a 6-month emergency supply of water for all of Southern California.

Situated between 2 mountain ranges, the Diamond Valley Lake was created by damming the Valley’s open ends with two 300‘ high dams. The construction of these dams is the largest earthwork project in American history.

The Museums are located half way between Hoover Dam and Los Angeles, and are near the base of the East Dam of Diamond Valley Lake. The design of the buildings draws inspiration from the honorific architecture of Gordon Kaufman, Parker Dam, its pump houses, and the serial turbines and machinery that bring us water.

floor plan + elevation

There were numerous challenges, including the harsh climate with extreme temperature fluctuations daytime, nighttime, and season. The daunting scale and form of the 300′ high and 2.5 mile long East Dam, made from rock mined from the surrounding mountains, also had to be considered.

sustainability diagram

: © Fotoworks

: © Michael Lehrer

: © Fotoworks

: © Fotoworks

: © Fotoworks

: © Fotoworks

: © Michael Lehrer

: © Fotoworks

: © Michael Lehrer

: site plan

: floor plan + elevation

: elevation

: sustainability diagram

* Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.

Cite:
Minner , Kelly . "Water + Life Museums and Campus / Lehrer Architects and Gangi Architects" 26 Jan 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 16 May 2012. <http://www.archdaily.com/106666>

Comments (1)
Tweets (16)
Links to this entry (0)

shabbir says:

Planet of Earth Energy Crisis.

Dear Sir

Subject mater all our the World facing Energy problem So I am try to explain a idea for Old & New Dams / Reservoirs Hydel Civil Design can move in architectural Transition to increase our energy potential Because we are losing heavy quantum of already storage water in our Big Dams to generate past technology now need to convert into New theory of Technology.

Thanks.

with best regards.

# March 6, 2011 at 11:47

12:54 AM Jan 27th

Donny Koerniawan

Reading: "Water + Life Museums and Campus / Lehrer Architects and Gangi Architects | ArchDaily"( http://twitthis.com/p3mu8o )

1:05 AM Jan 27th

Bocetos Digitales

Water + Life Museums and Campus / Lehrer Architects and Gangi Architects: © FotoworksThe Water + Life Museums an… http://bit.ly/e9Nx04

1:12 AM Jan 27th

Corporate Punk

Water + Life Museums and Campus / Lehrer Architects and Gangi Architects: © FotoworksThe Water + Life Museums an… http://bit.ly/g3JYJK