Herzog & de Meuron Will Turn a Birkenstock Warehouse Into the Eames Museum

Herzog & de Meuron is converting a former Birkenstock warehouse campus in Novato, California into the Eames Institute Museum, and the firm plans to keep the building's most theatrical asset: a roof of repeated hyperbolic paraboloid shells. The museum is targeting an opening in 2030, with major construction set to begin in 2028.

The Swiss firm released new renderings of the proposal, developed with San Francisco practice EHDD as executive architect and Field Operations handling the landscape. The roughly 88-acre site will hold exhibition spaces, workshops, a theater, and gardens — a cultural destination whose scope reaches beyond the legacy of Charles and Ray Eames.

The Eames Institute acquired the property in 2025, and the masterplan has now been submitted to the City of Novato.

Why the roof matters

The existing campus was originally designed for publisher McGraw-Hill by Jan Lubicz-Nycz for the office of John Savage Bolles, before it became associated with Birkenstock. Its signature roof, developed with structural engineer Raj Desai, uses curved geometry to span large distances with remarkably little material. The repeated shells produce a sequence of pointed edges that gives the industrial building its unexpected drama.

By retaining that structure, the museum turns the building itself into an exhibit — visitors will encounter an experiment in construction before they reach the first show. A warehouse with a roof this expressive already has something to exhibit.

What happens inside?

Herzog & de Meuron organizes the interior around a generous central hall, keeping the roof's geometry visible overhead. An entrance court cut into an existing earth berm establishes the approach, and a steel-clad bridge introduces an elevated route through the building. Its reflective finish will catch fragments of the surrounding space, setting a visually shifting surface against the weight of the concrete canopy.

Below the bridge, circulation routes connect exhibitions with places to gather and work. Building services and lighting will be integrated into the ceiling to reduce visual clutter beneath the roof's peaks.

The program leans into process rather than just finished objects. Studios and workshops for wood and ceramics sit within an arrangement of flexible exhibition spaces, letting creative activity become part of the visit. The collecting strategy follows the same logic, spanning industrial design, painting, sculpture, and other disciplines — with room for the practical, occasionally messy business that precedes an object's arrival on a pedestal.

How does the landscape work?

At the building's northern and southern edges, recessed glass façades create deep covered areas between the interiors and gardens. These sheltered thresholds extend the possibilities for exhibitions and everyday use, and former loading zones become places to spend time outdoors.

Field Operations connects ten gardens through paths, planting native species including oak, manzanita, and California poppy. The planting draws on the region's different habitats, from woodland to coastal prairie, giving the grounds a character rooted in Marin County rather than treating them as a uniform backdrop.

Outdoor sculpture, places to play, and areas for communal events will share the landscape with quieter spaces for sitting and walking. The proposal allows a museum visit to unfold across different settings and at different speeds — from a workshop or performance to an afternoon outside.

What does this change for the Eames legacy? It gives it a permanent, purpose-built public home where design is shown as an active practice, not just a collection of classics — and it hands one of Marin County's most distinctive industrial structures a second life.

Project info: Eames Institute Museum; architect: Herzog & de Meuron; executive architect: EHDD; landscape: Field Operations; location: Novato, Marin County, California, USA.