Audrey Irmas Pavilion
Overview
A machine for gathering
Designed by OMA/Shohei Shigematsu, The Audrey Irmas Pavilion is a modern new addition to the Wilshire Boulevard Temple campus in Koreatown. It serves as a multi-use cultural and religious event space for both the congregation and the surrounding city. The pavilion is designed to be a machine for gathering, forging new connections with the existing campus activities, and inviting the urban realm in to create a new civic anchor.
The building is more than 54,600 square feet over seven unique floor elevations in a three-story low rise. To support a multi-generational congregation, the structure consists of three distinct gathering spaces expressed as voids punctured through the building – a main event space and grand ballroom (large) on the first floor, an intimate chapel and terrace (medium) on the second floor, and a sunken garden (small) on the third floor. The three spaces are interlocked and stacked one atop another to establish vantage points in and out of each space. Within each space are a series of openings that filter light and frame views to the temple and historic school, reorienting visitors to the complex and beyond.
Flexibility is provided through diversity in scale and spatial characters for gathering. The interior contains numerous conference rooms, catering kitchen, double height prefunction areas, outdoor terraces, and an occupied rooftop. The third floor houses the Wallis Annenberg Foundation's GenSpace. The project also included extensive sitework, hardscape and landscape, both onsite and offsite.
The building façade is comprised of individual GFRC hexagonal units and is sloping in two directions. Out of respect for the adjacent historical buildings, it slopes away from the Temple and the School, and leans out into the main urban corridor to establish a new urban presence. The façade draws from the geometries of the historic temple's sanctuary ceiling and is comprised of more than 1,200 hexagonal panels with inset, rectangular windows set at various angles, creating a stunning pattern of light and reflection at all times of day.
Gallery
Team
1 Experience with prior firm.
Voices
"Being in the construction industry for over forty years and working with Alex representing me and our organization for approximately the last five, I have found him to be among the most competent, organized and knowledgeable individuals in the owners representation field."
"I have had the pleasure to work with Alex on 3 very large and complex projects. I always felt secure that Alex had our best interests at heart and really looked out for us as a client. Well organized, proficient, and tirelessly hardworking, Alex prevailed in all situations and our projects were a success!"
"I truly consider Alex to be one of the good ones in our industry. He has an innate ability and laser focus to arrive at solutions that move complex problems and projects forward, and doing so in a manner that keeps the people and the teams wanting to continue to work together. This is such a rare attribute that I have only seen in a few leaders after my more than 35 years of experience as an Architect. He was instrumental to the project's success and I hope to work with him time and time again."
"In my experience as a design engineer and manager of a building engineering team on a complex, award-winning project with Alex, he continually had a positive and project-first mentality and approach to the inevitable project conflicts. Alex's ability to de-escalate tense situations on the project and navigate the team to a solution were invaluable."
"Working in the construction and development industry for over 23 years I have worked with a lot of various team members. With that in mind, I have had the pleasure and the luck to work with Alex for the last 5 years on three large and complex projects. He is a natural leader who is competent, organized and a knowledgeable Owners representative. He is a superb team member who keeps the project and the team's best interests at heart. With professionalism, a direct, transparent, and collaborative approach, Alex ensures project success. I wish he were on all our projects."
"Working with Alex meant we never had to worry about not meeting the expectations of the owner or the architect. His easy-going manner combined with real-world problem solving during complicated and difficult situations was always appreciated."
"Direct, transparent, and collaborative, Alex moved many highly complex design and construction projects forward with a rare combination of leadership and expertise. I wish he were on all of our projects."