The Water and Life Museums are born of the construction of Diamond Valley Lake (DVL), the largest man-made water storage lake in North America. Set in the semi-arid Southern California desert near Hemet, DVL is an integral part of the state’s water infrastructure. The lake provides a 6-month emergency supply of water for all of Southern California. Diamond Valley existed between 2 mountain ranges. Diamond Valley Lake was created by damming the Valley’s open ends with two 300‘ high dams. The East Dam is 2.5 miles long. The Dam, is made from rock mined from these mountains. The Museums sit near the base of the East Dam of DVL. The construction of these dams is the largest earthwork project in American history. The Water and Life Museums and campus celebrate the infrastructure of water and its central role in the evolution of life and development in California. Water = Life No Water = No Life. The Museums are approximately half way between Hoover Dam and Los Angeles. They draw inspiration from the honorific architecture of Gordon Kaufman, Parker Dam, its pump houses, and the serial turbines and machinery that bring us water. The design aims to place beauty and sustainability -- an inseparable couplet -- at the center of its agenda as an environmental showcase.
SPECIAL CHALLENGES A Harsh Climate Extreme temperature fluctuations: Daytime/Nighttime, Seasonally 300’ high, 2.5 mile long East Dam presents daunting scale, tough form: Achieving appropriate monumentality in such a vast setting 2 separate Boards of Directors, often dysfunctional. No environmental/sustainable mandate originally.
DESIGN 10 steel towers, 16’ wide, 46’ high achieve appropriate monumentality and intimacy. As primal, minimalist form, their simplicity projects them across a large open landscape, and complements the long, vast East Dam behind. Major building mass is 24’ high,. The 8’ high datum unifies buildings horizontally, achieves intimacy while giving the building/loggia mass approporiate grandeur. A 550-kilowatt rooftop solar-power array of 3,000 solar panels generates energy for 50% of museum building and campus needs. Harness, celebrate, and control the fierce desert sun. Courtyard lined with 2 photovoltaic covered loggia that provide a gracious and grand covered entry to the Museums. LEED Platinum rating was achieved by extreme cooperation and partnering of the architect / builder /owner / engineers / landscape architect to develop a place of beauty and best management practices.
PROGRAM/SCOPE 15 acre campus 2 Museums, 70,000 sq. ft. WATER - The Center for Water Education The story of water, its conservation, and stewardship, is told here. An outcome of major infrastructural investment, its mission is to foster, convene, and promote study and action to preserve this precious resource. LIFE - The Western Center for Archaeology & Paleontology This Museum was created to study, house, and exhibit the Pleistocene-era mammoth--and other animal--remains. These were found while excavating 150’ into bedrock to gird the huge earthen dams built to create Diamond Valley Lake.
