Judges' Comments
- The jury loved the iconic quality of this project and felt the architects had capitalized on the design opportunity in a good way. They noted that the symmetry of the plan was a smart organizational strategy that created a nice plaza atmosphere upon arrival. The modern iconography of the project gives it a great identity, and the lighting design delivers a strong nighttime presence. It’s clear the design will remain recognizable for a long time.
Project Data:
Completion Date: 6/30/2015
Square Footage: 39700
Building Use: Pacific Amphitheatre entry lobby, outdoor plaza, restroom facilities, and ticket kiosks
Location: Costa Mesa, CA
Project Description:
Quantifying the key programmatic goals of the project, we conceived an acoustical vestibule as a unifying intervention, resolving the functional needs and suturing the previously separate portions of the 150 acre facility.
The Pacific Amphitheatre was initially built as an independently operated facility on 150 Acre Orange County Fairgrounds, with only a poorly defined connection to the Fairgrounds. Following the reopening of the Pacific Amphitheatre under OC Fair management the lack of any pragmatic primary connection between the 8,000 seat venue was deemed needing resolution. The scope includes; reclaiming 3.06 acres of usable site area, a 32,500 sq. ft. plaza, restroom facilities, ticket kiosks, and the new point of entry to the Amphitheatre.
APPROACH:
REPURPOSE
Initiate a new active node at the west end of the 180-acre Fairgrounds facility by shifting the existing 40-foot-high by 600-foot-long berm reclaiming 3.06 acres for repurposing underutilized area.
ACTIVATE
Integrate facilities to engage patrons via a new 32,500 square foot ‘Plaza Pacifica’ with raised informal stage and terraced seating, ticketing kiosks and light towers illuminating and define the space. Flexible program space (‘festival fields’) flank the plaza to each side.
WEAVE
Engage the Amphitheatre, unifying with the Fairgrounds in harmonized experience. While effectuating security and acoustical containment, the entry pavilion sutures the previously disparate facilities, existing as a part of both the Fairgrounds plaza and Amphitheatre, both in the shared ground surface that emanates from within the building to the edges of the plaza and visually permeable façade conjoining the whole.
Our concept envisioned the new plaza engaging the Fairground circulation avenues via a new primary circulation axis, visually terminating at the new entry pavilion. Plaza Pacifica and its amenities activate the west end of the Fairgrounds. Suitable for various event types, including a stage adaptable to both small and large audiences, the plaza bridges between the previously disassociated Fairgrounds and Pacific Amphitheatre venue, celebrating the Amphitheatre as a vibrant part of the larger whole. At the nexus of the plaza stands the entry pavilion, a backdrop to the plaza and the plaza’s performance stage, marrying the Pacific Amphitheatre to the main body of the fairgrounds.
Functionally the entry pavilion was required to provide; acoustical mitigation and simultaneous path of entry, retaining the 40-foot berm while celebrating the new connection, functioning as entry pavilion yet double as accessory space to the plaza when the Pacific Amphitheatre is not in use. Shotcrete retaining walls forming the mouth of the entry pavilion, opening outward to embrace the plaza, its stage and terraced seating, further engaging the two previously separated areas of the facility. Acting as an acoustical vestibule, the facades and the interior are designed to mitigate sound energy generated by the amphitheater audio system. The entry pavilion is clad in a diagonal patterned custom formed brake metal panel and fenestration system, from a delicate base to weighty top, with the pattern continuing to fluidly evolve across the floating interior ceiling. While addressing the project goals, an experiential continuity between the Fairgrounds and Amphitheatre has been birthed.
C.O.T.E. | Committee on the Environment
Submitted By: |
MAKE Architecture |
Design Architect: |
MAKE Architecture |
Associate Architect or Firm: |
William Beauter Jess Mullen-Carey Dianne Shapiro Mel de Leon Carlos Gomez Reid Nystrom Matthew Kingstreet |
Landscape Architect: |
David Fletcher Studio |
Owner / Developer: |
Orange County Fair and Event Center |
Engineer: |
Nishkian Chamberlain - Structural Engineers GLUMAC - MEP Engineers Paller-Roberts Engineering - Civil Engineers Veneklasen Associates - Acoustical Engineers the J. Byer Group Inc. - Geotechnical Engineers TDR Engineering - Surveyor |
General Contractor: |
|
Consultant: |
C.P. O'Halloran Associates Inc. - Cost Estimators |
Photographer: |
John Edward Linden Photography |
Pacific Amphitheatre Entry and Plaza Pacifica
Category
Commercial
Winner Status
- Citation Award