Eames Institute Releases Master Plan for Its California Museum
Master plan designs for the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity, a museum planned for Novato, California, have been released. The updated plans include a 400-foot-long room called the Great Hall, according to Dezeen, which published the designs on 29 October 2026.
The institute bought the 88.5-acre property in 2025. Its plan is to build a public exhibition space and museum for its collection of work by the designers Charles and Ray Eames. John Cary is the institute's founding president and chief executive.
The site already has buildings with a history of their own. They were originally built for the McGraw-Hill publishing company in 1965. Birkenstock USA, the shoe company, operated out of the site until 2019. The main building is a warehouse and office complex with a sawtooth roof, the zigzag shape that lets in daylight. Jan Lubicz-Nycz and John Savage Bolles designed it.
The Swiss practice Herzog & de Meuron, based in Basel, and EHDD, a San Francisco firm, were named on the project when it was first announced in 2025. EHDD is the executive architect. Field Operations has now been announced as the landscape designer.
The warehouse will be adapted to hold galleries, maker spaces, a theatre and a cafe. A grand stair will lead up to a 120-foot bridge of polished stainless steel, which crosses over the gallery spaces. The former office building will become a pavilion for events.
The studios said the Great Hall will be one of the largest single-span spaces for art installations in the country. Single-span means one open room with no supporting columns in the middle. The design also includes a 275-seat theatre, a Japanese-inspired garden and play spaces for children.
The main materials will be colour-stained plywood, plaster and aluminium windows. The institute has said the museum will offer art and design exhibitions. It has also published a first look at the renderings, which show the campus design in more detail.
