Gift of Architecture
Published by the OMCA Council on Architecture
When the Oakland Museum of California building opened in 1969, it was hailed internationally as an important and radically progressive, contemporary structure designed as a museum of the people that integrated indoor and outdoor spaces and welcomed the public to the Museum’s collections of art, history, and natural sciences.
When the Museum was transformed in 2010, these inherent characteristics were sensitively preserved and updated by Mark Cavagnero and Associates, launching OMCA into a new era of public engagement and interactivity. A Gift of Architecture 2 is a significant addition to literature about architecture, mid-century modernism, and museums, and eloquently updates the long out-of-print 1st edition.
A significantly expanded and updated edition of the OMCA Council on Architecture's The Oakland Museum: A Gift of Architecture (1989) publication, A Gift of Architecture 2 is an innovative 56-page book that includes the publication’s original 32-page text and photographic content documenting the original 1969 building plus new photos of the Museum’s widely covered 2010 transformation by Bay Area Architect Mark Cavagnero and Associates. At the center of the book is an accordion fold-out leporello with original black-and-white documentary photographs of the Museum on one side and new color photos of the 2010 transformation on the reverse.
The publication includes new essays by Cavagnero, San Francisco Chronicle architecture critic John King, and Andre Ptaszynski, Principal at Jensen/Ptaszynski Architects, a foreword by OMCA Director and CEO Lori Fogarty, and design by Jean Sanchirico.
