THOUSAND OAKS : Arts Plaza Design Scheme Proposed

The chief architect for Thousand Oaks’ new Civic Arts Plaza on Tuesday presented a design scheme intended to showcase the building while partly camouflaging the height of the 10-story tower.

Shimmering copper strips four to five inches wide would hang down the length of the auditorium’s tower, which rises 69 feet above the Ventura Freeway, if the City Council approves the architect’s vision.

The strips would reflect light--including the headlights of oncoming cars--and would ripple gently in the breeze, architect Bob Newsom of Dworsky Associates told the council.

The effect would be low-key, in keeping with Thousand Oaks’ image, but also exciting and animated, Newsom said. He could not estimate the cost of the design, which he said was developed especially for the Civic Arts Plaza.

“This is for us,” Mayor Judy Lazar said proudly.

The freely moving copper strips would resemble a stage curtain and thus reinforce the building’s role as a performing arts center, Lazar said.

But Councilwoman Elois Zeanah worried aloud that the curtain “will draw attention to the height of the tower rather than making the height disappear.”

The council will vote on the curtain and other interior and exterior designs within the next few months, after the architect develops cost estimates.

The civic arts plaza, on the site of the former Jungleland wild animal park, is scheduled to open in October of 1994. It includes an 1,800-seat auditorium, a 400-seat forum theater and city hall offices.