CAMP: A Gateway Proposal Presidio Museum

Located within the National Park Service’s Presidio, CAMP is sited at the crest of the main post. The iconic and assertive structure frames a broad, open sculpture court flanked by museum galleries. At this gateway, the new spatial threshold of the CAMP Museum resolves the parade ground’s monumental spatial corridor while preserving its openness to the natural surroundings.

The project relies on both apparent and latent contextual strategies. Addressing the historic buildings to the east, the flanking walls of the gallery wings are brick, scaled in relationship to the surrounding masonry structures on the parade ground. The bunkered plinth draws on the dramatic earthen and concrete gun turrets nestled into the coastal areas of the Presidio.

CAMP promotes a civic engagement with the revitalized cultural and economic life of the Presidio. The image of the institution is envisioned to be both contemporary and timeless, acknowledging the Presidio’s history as well as its transformation. The sculpture court, galleries, and educational programs support the interconnectedness between people, place, and work. Taken as an empty figure, the building echoes the abstraction of the museum’s typological white wall where contemporary art has the freedom to express itself.