The Folks Behind Park’s Master Plan

An award-winning Portland, Ore., architectural firm will produce a master plan for the Exposition Park museum complex that may radically alter such institutions as the California Museum of Science and Industry and the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.

Selection of Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership, which also has an office in Newport Beach, came earlier this month after the firm was chosen among five finalists for the project that is expected to breathe new life into the science and industry museum, in particular. No completion date for the master plan has been set, but officials have said major changes in Exposition Park may not be completed for a decade.

In its winning presentation, the firm took note of the hodgepodge of facilities that have developed in Exposition Park, which now include the museums, rose garden, the Coliseum, Sports Arena and a swim stadium. “We feel like a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s court,” the architectural firm told the museum’s board in a letter earlier this month. “We can see your future although you may not be able to do so.”

More than half of the science and industry museum’s exhibition space is currently closed after state architectural officials found dangerous earthquake hazard conditions in the Ahmanson and Armory buildings late last year.

The popular Aerospace Hall and IMAX Theater remain open. Both facilities were built in 1984. Museum officials hope to lease about 40,000 square feet of prefabricated tent-like buildings similar to facilities at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The museum said last week it hopes to open the temporary buildings by the time an important new exhibit focused on toys and games is scheduled to open in mid-November.

Zimmer Gunsul Frasca, said a spokesman for the Office of the State Architect in Sacramento, will study the existing layout of the natural history and science and industry museums, as well as the California Afro-American museum. A master plan incorporating new and renovated facilities, as well as improved exterior amenities, is to be developed. Museum officials are still negotiating costs with Zimmer Gunsul Frasca.

The firm recently completed reconstruction of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland. It has designed other major public, hospital and university buildings in Portland, Seattle, Irvine, Santa Cruz, Kansas City and Longview, Wash.