Lehrer Architects

Water + Life Museums and Campus

Water + Life Museums and Campus
© Fotoworks, Michael Lehrer

WATER + LIFE MUSEUMS AND CAMPUS

Gangi Architects, Lehrer Architects LA

LOCATION
Hemet, California, USA

CATEGORY
Museum

AREA
70000.0 ft2

PROJECT YEAR
2007

PHOTOGRAPHS
Fotoworks, Michael Lehrer

Text description provided by architect.

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.

Water + Life Museums and Campus
© Fotoworks, Michael Lehrer
Water + Life Museums and Campus
© Fotoworks, Michael Lehrer
Water + Life Museums and Campus
© Fotoworks, Michael Lehrer

The 15 acre campus houses two museums, Water - The Center for Water Education and Life - The Western Center for Archaeology & Paleontology.

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.

Water + Life Museums and Campus
© Fotoworks, Michael Lehrer
Water + Life Museums and Campus
© Fotoworks, Michael Lehrer

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.

Water + Life Museums and Campus
© Fotoworks, Michael Lehrer
Water + Life Museums and Campus
© Fotoworks, Michael Lehrer

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.

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.

Water + Life Museums and Campus
© Fotoworks, Michael Lehrer


Water + Life Museums and Campus
Site Plan
Water + Life Museums and Campus
Floor Plan + Elevation


Water + Life Museums and Campus
Sustainability Diagram
Water + Life Museums and Campus
Elevation

Lehrer Architects
T +1 323 6644747 F +1 323 6643566
Lehrer Architects
2140 Hyperion Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027, United States