Rem Koolhaas's OMA Announces Audrey Irmas Pavilion in Los Angeles
A jaw-dropping event space for the Wilshire Boulevard Temple.
The oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles is set to receive a new event space designed by none other than Pritzker Prize-winning design firm OMA. Located next to the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, the Audrey Irmas Pavilion will host the temple’s social events and charitable services, while a sunken garden located on the rooftop is intended to encourage get-togethers and encourage LA’s fledgling rooftop culture. Designer Shohei Shigematsu took cues from the next-door temple’s design when engineering the internal walls of the structure, which feature hexagonal patterns leading up to an arched roof as a nod to the dome of the original structure. As Rabbi Steven Leder notes, “…[this design] creates two paradoxical feelings: It’s about feeling both great and small at one and the same time.”
The congregation has raised $55 million USD of the $75 million USD necessary to complete the build and aims to break ground later this year, with an estimated completion date of 2020.
Elsewhere in the world of design, the world’s largest single-domed greenhouse is scheduled for construction in northern France.
