Construction Tour: Audrey Irmas Pavilion at Wilshire Boulevard Temple
Southwest corner of the temple (left) and the new pavilion (right).
At the corner of Wilshire and Hobart Boulevard sits the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, a worship space for the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles. The Moorish-style building, completed in 1929 by architect Abram M. Edelman, will soon be joined by a new multi-purpose event space for both the congregation and the surrounding city. Designed by Shohei Shigematsu of OMA New York, the Audrey Irmas Pavilion sits adjacent to the 1929 temple in a 5-story trapezoidal form that respects the landmarked building by sloping away from it, opening up a view corridor to the temple’s east facade.
South facade of the temple (left) and the new pavilion (right).
The pavilions trapezoidal massing is punctured by three distinct volumes - a main event space, a smaller multi-purpose room and a sunken garden - that frame views of the temple and the surrounding neighborhood.
Southwest corner of the Audrey Irmas Pavilion.
Exterior cladding for the pavilion pays homage to the temple dome’s octagonal tiling with hexagonal glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) panels. The pavilion is clad in 1280 of these panels, which are approximately five-and-a-half feet tall and weigh 200 pounds. Rectangular windows and louver screens are inset into the hexagons and rotated in a randomized pattern that lends further texture to the facade.
South facade of the Audrey Irmas Pavilion.
The main event space on the ground floor will reference the temple’s iconic dome with its 36-foot tall arced ceiling that spans the entire width of the space. Extending north to south, the arc creates a column free space capable of hosting a variety of programs. A skylight at the ceiling will allow for views of the temple’s dome, continuing the building’s engagement with the existing structure.
Above the main event space, the second floor will offer a chapel, meeting spaces, and a west facing outdoor terrace with views to the existing temple . Offices will occupy the third floor.
Southeast corner of the Audrey Irmas Pavilion.
The fourth floor will serve as the future home of the Wallis Annenberg Center on Purposeful Aging with programming dedicated to wellness, creativity, tech exploration, social connection, community engagement, and financial security.
A sunken garden extends vertically through the pavilion floors up to the roof, furthering the vertical connection of space with circular and semi-circular slab openings. The roof terrace will feature numerous planters and olive trees
Architect: OMA New York (Design Architect), Gruen Associates (Executive Architect); Structure, MEP, Facades: Arup; Landscape Architect: Studio-MLA; Performance Space Consultants: Theatre DNA; Signage and Graphic Design: Space Agency; Civil Engineering: Rhyton Engineering; Lighting: L'Observatoire International; Client: Wilshire Boulevard Temple; Program: ; Location: Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA; Completion: Mid 2021.
