OMA to expand LA's wilshire boulevard temple with new inclined structure

OMA has unveiled plans to expand a jewish temple in los angeles with a new structure that will contain a host of new gathering spaces. named after the project’s lead donor, the ‘audrey irmas pavilion’ will neighbor the wilshire boulevard temple — the home of LA’s oldest jewish congregation. the new building will exist in dialogue with the 1929 byzantine-revival structure, which is located midway between the los angeles county museum of art (LACMA) and the frank gehry-designed walt disney concert hall. the project is set to break ground on november 11, 2018.

all images courtesy of OMA new york

designed by OMA new york, the ‘audrey irmas pavilion’ respects its neighboring buildings with a sloping façade that leans away from the existing temple. the resulting form is described by the architects as being both ‘enigmatic’ and ‘familiar’. internally, the building contains three interlocking gathering spaces — a main event area, a smaller multi-purpose room, and a sunken garden — which are stacked one atop another.

‘we wanted to focus on communicating the energy of gathering and exchange,’ explains OMA partner shohei shigematsu. ‘the pavilion is an active gesture, shaped by respectful moves away from the surrounding historic buildings, reaching out onto wilshire boulevard to create a new presence. within the building, a series of interconnected meeting spaces at multiple scales provide ultimate flexibility for assembly while maintaining visual connections that establish outdoor indoor porosity and moments of surprise encounters.’

OMA won the design competition for wilshire boulevard temple in 2015. the project is designed by partner shohei shigematsu with associate jake forster, in collaboration with gruen associates who is serving as executive architect. the ‘audrey irmas pavilion’ is OMA’s first commission from a religious institution and first cultural building in california. the new building plans to open in 2020.