Founded in 1908, Vista Del Mar is a non-profit organization with a rich history spanning 114 years. It began with the establishment of Southern California’s first rural orphanage. Today, Vista Del Mar provides a broad range of trauma-informed social services aimed at supporting the well-being of children, youth, and families throughout Southern California.
At the heart of the Vista Del Mar campus stands a renovated and expanded 1950s temple, now transformed into the Gloria Kaufman Performing Arts Center. This center hosts the Vista Del Mar Innovative Healing Performing Arts project, offering a dedicated space for learning and performing dance, music, and theater. Additionally, it serves as the venue for Vista’s Jewish Life Program courses and holiday services.
The facility includes essential auxiliary spaces such as logistics areas, stage design workshops, dressing rooms, rehearsal spaces, and classrooms.
The building’s design consists of a series of small interconnected blocks that embody dynamism, music, and movement. A semi-transparent facade envelops the entire structure, turning the arts center into a glowing focal point of the campus when illuminated at night.
Beyond its striking appearance, the exterior walls are constructed from durable polycarbonate made entirely from recycled plastic, which can be recycled again at the end of its lifecycle. One of the main challenges during the renovation was preserving as much of the original structure as possible.
The foundation and structural floor slabs of the original temple have been retained and now form the framework for the new building. Behind the facade, a series of rhythmic columns create captivating light and shadow effects. This gradient pattern complements the main staircase and lobby, where the widths of flat surfaces shift continuously, evoking a sense of compression and expansion.
This design concept draws inspiration from Martha Graham’s dance piece “Mourning,” which depicts dancers in struggle, symbolizing the daily challenges faced by many individuals with autism.
The building offers a comfortable and adaptable learning environment, featuring a light color palette and an acoustic system designed to accommodate individuals sensitive to sound. The rooms are designed independently to support multiple functions throughout the day: classrooms in the morning, rehearsal spaces during the day, and lounges in the evenings.
The 10,550-square-foot arts center was developed with a limited budget, leading to a careful selection of materials, mostly standard off-the-shelf finishes. Key design features include wooden beams that enhance acoustics in the theater, a solid wood sprung stage adaptable to various performance needs, and glossy white terrazzo flooring used throughout the ticket hall, stairs, and entrance lobby.
Project Drawings
△ Hand-drawn drawing
△ Hand-drawn drawing
△ General layout plan
△ First floor plan
△ Second floor plan
△ Roof plan
△ Elevation drawing
△ Elevation drawing
△ Elevation drawing
△ Elevation drawing
△ Section diagram
△ Section diagram
△ Material schematic diagram
△ Material schematic diagram
△ Material schematic diagram
△ Material schematic diagram
Project Information
Architect: AUX Architecture
Area: 10,550 m²
Project Year: 2021
Photographer: Nic Lehoux
Manufacturers: Kohler, American Lead, American Standard, Arcluce, Armstrong, Babcock-Davis, Bega, Benjamin Moore, Bobrick, C.H.I. Overhead Doors, Caesarstone, CertainTeed, Corradini Corp, Custom, Daltile, Extech, Exterior Technologies, Inc., Guardian Partitions, Harlequin, Johns Manville, Lightwall 3440 system, +17 more
Designer: Brian Wickersham
Project Management: Gardiner & Theobald, Sabina Lira
Senior Assistant: Matthew Aulicino
Project Architect: Sean McCusker
Project Manager: Taylor Nunes Akins
General Contractor: Shawmut Design and Construction
Structural Engineer: Nous Engineering
Civil Engineers: VCA Engineers
MEP Engineering: South Coast Engineering
Lighting Design: KGM Architectural Lighting
Logo Design: Newsom Gonzalez
Landscape Design: SQLA
Location: Los Angeles, USA
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