The Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity has announced plans to transform the former Birkenstock campus in Novato into a museum for art and design. The Marin County campus spans 88.5 acres of public open space and an extremely distinctive saw-tooth roofline factory warehouse in view of Highway 101. International architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron is responsible for the design.
The iconic modernist warehouse at 8171 Redwood Boulevard was designed by John Savage Bolles in the 1960s, originally for the McGraw-Hill publishing company. Bolles is well-known across the Bay Area for designing Candlestick Park and the IBM Campus in San Jose. Birkenstock company occupied the 166,000-square-foot campus from 1994 through 2019.
Birkenstock Campus historic photograph, image courtesy the Eames Institute
Eames Institute courtyard, rendering by Herzog & de Meuron
Herzog & de Meuron, the same firm behind the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, is responsible for the design, collaborating with the San Francisco-based executive architect, EHDD. Illustrations show the transformation will add new windows, pale wood accents, and improved landscaping.
Herzog & de Meuron Partner Simon Demeuse said of the project, “drawing on our expertise of adapting historic structures, most notably the Tate Modern in London, we are thrilled to now help transform this modernist campus into a vibrant public arts destination serving the Bay Area and beyond.”
Birkenstock Campus historic interior view, image courtesy the Eames Institute
Birkenstock Campus existing condition, image courtesy the Eames Institute
The Eames Institute is an independent 501(c)(3) public charity established in 2019, dedicated to advancing the legacy of Ray and Charles Eames and bringing new design programming and art immersion to the public. The nonprofit was announced in 2022 after taking ownership of the William Stout Architectural Books in San Francisco and the Zurich-based Lars Müller Publishers. Earlier this year, the institute launched an exhibition inside the public Transamerica Pyramid Annex Gallery, two blocks away from the bookstore.
“To share my grandparents’ vision with the world is the honor of a lifetime,” said Llisa Demetrios, Chief Curator of the Eames Institute. “Ray and Charles’ boundless curiosity for solving problems through design has been at the core of the Eames Institute’s mission, and this expansion will allow us to share those gifts with our community on an even larger scale.”
Birkenstock Campus aerial view, image courtesy the Eames Institute
According to the project’s representative, the future museum is “expected to create an estimated 85-100 jobs and attract approximately 200,000 visitors annually for an estimated $14 million a year in visitor spending.”
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Nice reuse! Too bad it’s somewhere that’s only accessible by car.
It’s actually not very far from the SMART train’s San Marin stop.
I see that now and that’s great. Still over a mile away which sadly is too far for most. Get a bike share going at both locations and I think that would help bridge the gap.
SMART is actually a pretty “smart” transit agency. As its service has become more popular, they have added “last mile” shuttle vans at several of its stops to ferry passengers to popular nearby destinations, such as at Larkspur (the ferry), Civic Center (civic center), and Santa Rosa North (Charles M. Schultz Airport). I ride SMART semi-regularly and I notice that a lot of passengers have bikes to take care of the last mile situation. Anyway, maybe the Eames Foundation and SMART could partner on this to get a van going.
Repurposing this significant building in this way is a great idea but its relative remoteness might not serve the Eames’ legacy. Why not something in Oakland near a Bart station — a new symbol of the city’s revival?
This might be a case of quality over quantity in snobish terms. The space shown is quite promising and would be an impressive space if completed as rendered. Remote icons are nothing new in the design world, but they do pose a challenge to accessibility and the lack thereof.
As for Oakland being the host, I have not seen any effort to show that they deserve such a space. The fact that neighborhood guerrilla tactics have had to be used to battle illegal dumping is pitiful. Until the city can display any morsel of bureaucratic competence, you’re going to see minimal high-end investments.
It’s already an impressive space, “bro.”
The SMART train runs right next to this campus and the tracks can even bee seen in the photo. But you’d need a station and a bridge or tunnel under the highway.