Audrey Irmas Pavilion at Wilshire Boulevard Temple

Audrey Irmas Pavilion at Wilshire Boulevard Temple

As the newest addition to the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, the Audrey Irmas Pavilion is a multi-purpose event space that serves as a gathering place to foster connections within the congregation and Los Angeles community. The design of the site and landscape draws from the spatial volumes created from the Pavilion and accentuates its relationship to the existing historic temple. Inspired by the shared landscape typologies found within Israel and Southern California, both site materiality and planting highlight the bond between the two iconic Mediterranean locations.

The shared (Audrey Irmas Family) courtyard that connects the two buildings provides a meaningful space for outdoor congregations and transitions of importance. Clear sightlines through the length of the space, accentuated by planting and inlaid stone paving, demarcate the central point of the courtyard that aligns between building entries and signifies the reflection of time and space.

Elevated above Wilshire Boulevard, the rooftop space provides a plateau for flexible programming and informal seating that enable panoramic views from Downtown Los Angeles to the Hollywood Hills. The arrangement of planters, sculpted from the geometries of the building cladding system, provide an undulating landscape of olives, Mediterranean fan palms, and seasonally flowering understory.

CLIENT

Wilshire Boulevard Temple

SIZE

0.9 acres

LOCATION

Los Angeles, California

COMPLETED

2021

Project team

  • OMA Architect
  • Gruen Architect of Record
  • Rhyton Engineering Civil Engineer
  • ARUP Structural and M/E/P Engineer
  • L'Observatoire International Lighting
  • Space Agency Graphics and Wayfinding

AWARDS

  • 2022 AIA|LA, Building of the Year Award
  • 2022 Los Angeles Business Council, LA Architectural Chairman's Award
  • 2022 Southern California Development Forum, Engineering Excellence Award
  • 2021 Southern California Development Forum, Honor Award, Civic

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