Hilbert Museum Construction Begins

Chapman University’s Hilbert Museum of California Art expansion officially broke ground on February 15th. Designed by Johnston Marklee and set to open early 2024, the expanded museum will nearly triple in size, growing from 7,500 to 22,000 square feet.

Located at the Southwest corner of the Chapman University campus in Orange, California. The museum links the University with historic Old Towne Orange and the neighboring commuter rail station. The design unites the existing museum and the adjacent industrial building previously used as a dance studio through the addition of a new open-air courtyard.

Designed to accommodate a specific collection of paintings and drawings rooted in narratives of historic and modern California, a defining feature of the future Hilbert is the site-specific integration of a 16-foot by 40-foot mosaic tile mural by the artist and architect Millard Sheets. The mural is designed to hover over the entry to the courtyard, adjacent to the sidewalk streetscape and is visible from the Metro.

A series of floating volumes at the corners and edges of the museum buildings, establish visibility from the University campus, historic Old Towne Orange, and the adjacent Metro station. Reminiscent of the historic billboards that punctuate Southern Californian cityscapes and buildings, these urban markers signal the museum’s presence and project the building as a canvas with armatures for sculpture and museum signage.