Oakland Museum of California

Project Description

ECB is the Project Manager and Financing Consultant for the beloved Oakland Museum of California (OMCA), one of the most significant architectural examples of mid-century modernism in the US serving as a vibrant urban park and public space as well as a museum.   As OMCA achieved it’s 50-year anniversary in 2019, ECB was hired to manage the improvements to open up the massive 4-block building and expand community access to and use of the gardens as a public amenity and to transform the Café to a neighborhood amenity. 

The project includes infrastructure improvements, accessibility upgrades, sustainable plantings, power and lighting improvements, relocated sculpture, and a new outdoor performance stage, as well as interior improvements and improved pedestrian experience and access to the Café. 

Situated between serene Lake Merritt and busy downtown Oakland, the Oakland

Museum of California (OMCA) is one of the most significant architectural examples of mid-century modernism in the United States.  The Museum integrates architecture and landscape architecture and indoor and outdoor spaces into one building program. Its terraced roof gardens and central courtyard, designed by noted landscape architect Dan Kiley, continue to serve as a village green for Oakland residents and visitors from the Bay Area and beyond.

ECB collaborated with landscape architect Hood Design Studio, Mark Cavagnero Architects, and Cahill Contractors to transform the gardens and café into a public amenity for generations to come.  The project was financed with capital campaign funds as well as New Markets Tax Credits.  The project will be completed in Spring 2021.