Museum of Photographic Arts

Seeking to create a new aesthetic and guest experience in support of its evolving curatorial vision, San Diego’s Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) hired Gensler for its renovation. With the concept of embodying the act of photography through the architecture, the design elements are layered following the guest’s procession through the space. Visitors enter the light-filled atrium through “apertures” carved out of the museum doorway. A new sculptural guest desk anchors and traces through the atrium, connecting the renovated museum store with the entry experience. Gensler also designed the new digital gallery, an intimate space with exhibit flexibility and the same clean, minimalist aesthetic that pervades the museum.