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Oakland Museum of California Offers Architecture Tours of Historic Mid-Century Modern Building Each Sunday in June (UPDATED MAY 28)

MAY 28, 2014 MEDIA ADVISORY:
PUBLICATION DATE AND EVENT POSTPONED

MEDIA PLEASE NOTE: Due to a printing error, the release of the Oakland Museum of California Architecture Council’s publication of A Gift of Architecture 2 has been postponed until later in the summer at a date to be announced. As a result, the June 29 book signing event has also been postponed until publication.

The architecture tours of OMCA each Sunday in June will take place as planned. 

The original news release may be found below for your reference:

(OAKLAND, CA)—The public has a chance to experience the Oakland Museum of California’s remarkable mid-century modern landmark building with the guidance of the Museum’s expert members of the Council on Architecture. Every Sunday at 1 pm during the month of June, the Council will lead tours in celebration of the release of A Gift of Architecture 2, a new edition of the classic OMCA publication on the Museum’s iconic building and redesign. The tours culminate in a celebration and book signing in the OMCA Store on June 29 with publication contributors Mark Cavagnero, John King, and Andre Ptaszynski.

Built in 1969 with a design by Kevin Roche, and landscaping by Dan Kiley, the Museum recently completed a major renovation and expansion project overseen by San Francisco-based firm Mark Cavagnero Associates, which honors Roche and Kiley’s original vision of a vibrant urban park and public space. This tour shares just a few of the highlights of the incredible building, from views of Lake Merritt and downtown Oakland from atop a three-tiered roof garden to the serene Koi Pond, and a truly Californian indoor/outdoor design that still delights and attracts visitors today.

Publication of A Gift of Architecture 2 Complements June Tours

A significantly expanded and updated edition of The Oakland Museum: A Gift of Architecture, the 1989 publication celebrating the Oakland Museum of California as an iconic landmark of mid-century modern architecture designed by Kevin Roche—will be released by the Museum on May 30, 2014. When the Oakland Museum of California building opened in 1969, it was hailed internationally as an important, radically progressive, and 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. The publication is priced at $19.95 and will be available at the OMCA Store and online at shop.museumca.org beginning May 29, 2014.

A Gift of Architecture 2, published by the OMCA Council on Architecture, 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.

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