Former Birkenstock site in Marin County sold to Eames Institute for $36 million

The owners of the former Birkenstock campus the Marin County landmark next to Highway in Novato plan to launch an art and design museum there The property was purchased by the Eames Institute a nonprofit incorporated in for the purpose of preserving and cataloging the design archives of Ray and Charles Eames The Eames were a husband-and-wife design gang known best for their mass-produced ergonomic furniture such as the Eames lounge chair and ottoman An Eames lounge chair and ottoman made from molded rosewood plywood with black leather upholstery and aluminum AP photo Nick Merrick Grand Rapids Art Museum The institute paid million for the -acre property which includes a -square-foot office building and a -square-foot warehouse that were built in for the McGraw-Hill publishing company The warehouse which features a unique roof that resembles a gigantic egg crate has caught the eye of people diving by on the freeway for decades The campus was designed by John Savage Bolles a prominent modernist architect whose other Bay Area work included the IBM campus in San Jose Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco and the former Candlestick Park McGraw-Hill moved out in and was replaced by Birkenstock a year later Birkenstock a shoe company that rode a wave of popularity fueled by the hippie movement during the s and s left in The Eames Institute owns three buildings in Richmond totaling square feet where it conducts tours of the Eames archives The collection consists of more than objects including early correspondence between Ray and Charles artwork that predates their meeting prototypes and process materials industrial products and personal effects Llisa Demetrios co-founder of the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity climbs stairs as she passes a photo of her grandparents Ray and Charles Eames at the institute in Richmond Calif on Wednesday July Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal Llisa Demetrios co-founder of the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity gives a tour at the institute where furniture created by her grandparents renown twentieth century designers Ray and Charles Eames is displayed in Richmond Calif on Wednesday July Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal John Cary president and chief executive officer of the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity explains the Eames design diagram at the institute in Richmond Calif on Wednesday July Designer Charles Eames made the diagram to illustrate how the requirements of the client designer and society overlap Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal Llisa Demetrios co-founder of the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity left and John Cary president and chief executive officer of the institute are interviewed at their offices in Richmond Calif on Wednesday July Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal Llisa Demetrios co-founder of the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity walks through the institute in Richmond Calif on Wednesday July She is the granddaughter of Ray and Charles Eames the renowned th century designers whose work is displayed in the institute Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal Llisa Demetrios co-founder of the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity holds a photo of her grandfather Charles Eames making a film of a scale model at the institute in Richmond Calif on Wednesday July Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal A collection of cutout photos of people used by designers Ray and Charles Eames is stored at the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity in Richmond Calif on Wednesday July Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal Llisa Demetrios co-founder of the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity shows certain of the items stored at the institute in Richmond Calif on Wednesday July She is the granddaughter of Ray and Charles Eames the renowned th century designers whose work is displayed in the institute Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal Photos of Ray and Charles Eames are stored at the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity in Richmond Calif on Wednesday July Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal Molded plywood chairs at the Charles and Ray Eames exhibit at the Oakland Museum of California Tristan Fewings Getty Images Show Caption of Llisa Demetrios co-founder of the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity climbs stairs as she passes a photo of her grandparents Ray and Charles Eames at the institute in Richmond Calif on Wednesday July Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal Expand Ray and Charles boundless curiosity for solving problems through design has been at the core of the Eames Institute s mission and this expansion will allow us to share those gifts with our area on an even larger scale disclosed Llisa Demetrios a granddaughter of Ray and Charles Eames and the institute s chief curator John Cary the institute s chief executive officer commented This extraordinary space will enable us to expand our initiatives and reach a broader audience while serving as a permanent anchor for creativity and innovation in the Bay Area No new buildings are planned for the site We re really interested in adaptive reuse Cary explained because the existing structures have inherent value that we could not replicate with new construction The institute is working with the Swiss architecture firm Herzog de Meuron which designed the De Young Museum in San Francisco and Tate Modern in London and San Francisco-based EHDD Architecture on the redesign plans The work of other designers also will be displayed in the museum Cary stated the former warehouse will be used for large-scale installations and events while the former office building will house the institute s administrative offices The office building included a cafe and large industrial kitchen that will be put back into use Llisa Demetrios co-founder of the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity and John Cary president and chief executive officer of the institute take a walk through the former Birkenstock building in Novato Calif on Wednesday July Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal The former Birkenstock building in Novato Calif on Wednesday July Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal The former Birkenstock building stands along Redwood Boulevard in Novato Calif on Wednesday Feb Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal The old Birkenstock building in Novato Calif on Tuesday May Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal Llisa Demetrios co-founder of the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity and John Cary president and chief executive officer of the institute take a walk through the campus of the former Birkenstock property in Novato Calif on Wednesday July Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal Llisa Demetrios co-founder of the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity looks out the windows of a vacant office at the former Birkenstock property in Novato Calif on Wednesday July Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal John Cary president and chief executive officer of the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity looks at an old photo of the Birkenstock property in Novato Calif on Wednesday July Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal The former Birkenstock building in Novato Calif on Wednesday July Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal Llisa Demetrios co-founder of the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity ascends stairs in the former Birkenstock building in Novato Calif on Wednesday July Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal The former Birkenstock building in Novato Calif on Wednesday July Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal Llisa Demetrios co-founder of the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity takes a look around the former Birkenstock building in Novato Calif on Wednesday July Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal The former Birkenstock building in Novato Calif on Wednesday July Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal The former Birkenstock building stands along Redwood Boulevard in Novato Calif on Wednesday Feb Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal The former Birkenstock building stands along Redwood Boulevard in Novato Calif on Wednesday Feb Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal The former Birkenstock building in Novato Calif on Wednesday July Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal Llisa Demetrios co-founder of the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity and John Cary president and chief executive officer of the institute take a walk through the former Birkenstock building in Novato Calif on Wednesday July Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal Show Caption of Llisa Demetrios co-founder of the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity and John Cary president and chief executive officer of the institute take a walk through the former Birkenstock building in Novato Calif on Wednesday July Alan Dep Marin Independent Journal Expand The campus has been closed to the masses for years and the buildings have sustained various minor vandalism There s also several lore of skateboarding on the roof Cary revealed Related Articles Foreclosures defaults undermine hotel deals in Bay Area California Soup kitchen buys San Jose property to meet rising demand South Bay apartment hub bought in deal that tops million San Jose property leased to IHOP restaurant lands local buyer Oakland apartment complexes flop into default in ailing area On Wednesday behind the office building where there are wall friezes created by McGraw-Hill shy deer and a jackrabbit darted away We have a lot of deer and turkeys Cary explained and until of late the property had two eagles and three bobcats Cary disclosed he didn t have an estimate of the cost to complete the makeover but stated the institute will have to raise additional funds The institute s tax filing available on GuideStar shows that it had net assets of more than million The nonprofit published that in it received more than million in revenue from gifts grants contributions and membership fees The institute s purchase of the Birkenstock property is its second major venture in the vicinity in little more than a year In May the institute paid million to purchase a -acre property approximately miles north of the Birkenstock building at San Antonio Road in unincorporated Petaluma That site was originally the home of World College West a liberal arts college that opened in and closed in the fall of because of inadequate funding The Eames Institute purchased San Antonio Road from the Hoffman Institute which provides adult guidance and spiritual advancement trainings We intend to operate it like an educational retreat center in the same way Cary revealed We imagine that people will be coming from hopefully all over the region but also all over the world to visit the museum and we want to have at least particular accommodations available to them The Hoffman Institute is leasing the property from the Eames Institute At present it sounds like they are planning to vacate by May of Cary explained They have the option to lease back for another months thereafter as well Cary projects that the redesign work will be completed by Cary noted it is uncertain whether the institute will need to maintain its Richmond site once the Birkenstock property has been made over Local authorities hailed the institute s decision to expand in Marin County I applaud the Eames Institute for their expenditure in our locality and their commitment to building a more vibrant and creative future for our region announced Marin County Supervisor Eric Lucan a former Novato mayor Novato Councilmember Mark Milberg reported This acquisition will transform a long inactive property into a powerful economic engine for Novato Novato Councilmember Kevin Jacobs noted This project will undoubtedly be a source of pride for our region for generations to come Demetrios grew up on a ranch in Sonoma County Her mother Lucia Eames hired Sea Ranch architect William Turnbull to design the ranch s board-and-batten farm buildings She and other family members are shareholders in Eames Office a for-profit design and media studio that was founded by Charles and Ray Eames Demetrios reported the importance of her grandparents archive is not just seeing what they made but understanding how they made it and the questions that they petitioned I like to say that as amazing as my grandparents were as designers they were more incredible as grandparents she mentioned because they taught us these things without us even realizing we were learning something