C100 Offers Suggestions to SDMA’s West Wing Replacement

By Roger Showley

The Balboa Park Committee of 100 suggested several modest changes in January to the San Diego Museum of Art’s plans to replace its West Wing. They included the recreation of the decorative ornamentation on the El Prado arcade, incorporation in some form the embellishments in the existing wing and a permanent photographic exhibit on the site’s history.

“It is our sincere hope that these notes are just the next step in an ongoing dialog between C100 and your team, and that the committee can continue to support SDMA in this exciting project!” said C100 President Kevin Carpenter in his letter to SDMA board member Rachel Inmon, the liaison between the museum and C100.

In her reply, Inmon said, “I want to thank the Committee of 100 for your time and internal discussions and to acknowledge your efforts to define compromises and recommendations to our team. Your engagement and support have been something we have actively tried to foster from the beginning. We appreciate the relationship that we’ve been able to build together on this important project. As soon as we have had some time to digest your letter, we’ll be back in touch.”

The museum hired Foster + Partners, a world-renowned British architectural firm, to design a replacement for the current wing, opened in 1966 designed by the San Diego architectural firm now known as  Mosher Drew. The museum also is looking at changes to the adjoining 1926 Fine Arts Gallery building, designed by San Diego architect William Templeton Johnson.

A model of Foster’s proposed building is on display at the SDMA through Aug. 10, 2025, as part of the exhibition, “Foster+ Partners: Architecture of Light and Space.”

Here is the full text of Carpenter’s letter to the museum:

The Balboa Park Committee of 100 offers these initial recommendations for the proposed replacement for the museum’s West Wing. The city’s 1981 policy No. 700-24, calls for new buildings along El Prado to incorporate the architectural design, style and ornament “similar to or be compatible with the 1915 Panama-California Exposition’s Spanish Colonial style.”

We believe these five suggestions would improve the compatibility of the new design with the old.

• Reconstruct the Moorish arch ornamentation: When the north arcade east of the California Quadrangle was completed in 2005, there were not enough funds to recreate the original Moorish arch ornamentation; the project did include the reconstruction of the ornamentation at the east end of the arcade facing Plaza de Panama. However, the new arcade does feature a facade treatment that echoes the outline of the original.  Suffcient evidence of the 1915 design exists to make a faithful reconstruction.

• Incorporate in some form some of the embellishments in the 1966 Mosher-Drew West Wing: The Mosher-Drew design represented a modern interpretation of Spanish-Colonial architecture. They include the frieze over the entrance, the columns and the bronze gates.

• Modify the new design to create a more graceful connection to the 1926 building: The 1915 Science & Education building was separated from the Sacramento Valley Building by a pergola over an arcade. The proposed design shows an overhang.

• Include a permanent photographic exhibit of the site’s history: Elements could include the Science & Education Building and Sacramento Building, 1915, Fine Arts Gallery, (1926), and the Plaza de Panama (pedestrian use, 1915; Arco de Futuro, 1935;  parking lot, 1935-2013; temporary installation of a Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian house, 1990;  and carfree treatment, 2013-present).

• Redesign the Plaza de Panama as a people-friendly space: The present project does not include revisions to the plaza but the museum and Foster + Partners could offer some suggestions on how to proceed with its improvement.

San Diego Museum of Art model shows the proposed West Wing replacement. To the right is a new three-story building with a cafe and open area on the roof;  a grassy area, site of the current sculpture garden; and to the left, a multipurpose building for meetings and educational programs. Photo: C100.

The arcade on the north side of El Prado was reconstructed in 2005 by C100. It did not include ornamentation on the Moorish Arch for the 1915-16 Science and Education Building at the Panama-California Exposition. The arcade and building were demolished to make way for the 1966 West Wing. C100 proposes that the arch ornamentation be added as part of the new project. Photo: C100.