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In the Press
Lux Art Institute Plans Expansion with Future Education Pavilion
Lux Art Institute, San Diego’s first LEED certified interactive art destination, will be moving forward this summer with a long-awaited expansion that will allow more room for programs, classes, events and parking.
Immediately following the conclusion of Summer Art Camp sessions, Lux will embark on a $2.7 million renovation of a 7,000 square foot facility that will be the future home of the Lux Education Pavilion, which will include expansive classrooms, plentiful parking and a spacious backyard. Lux purchased the former daycare facility in 2008 and has been leasing the property to the Sanderling Waldorf School for the past four years while making long-term plans to develop the site for the organization’s growing education and community programs.
The existing facility was built in 1984 and has undergone no major improvements since that time. Consequently, the renovation will prioritize bringing the building up to City code, updating it to ADA standards for handicap accessibility and equipping the building with fire sprinklers. Also included in the remodel scope is a new roof that will replace the existing one (original to the building) and a new, energy-saving heating and cooling system.
Lux has partnered with Anne Sneed Architectural Interiors to re-envision the current floor plan and exterior facade into a modern, spacious and functioning art education center. The remodeled facility will feature two large youth classrooms, a lecture space, an artist’s workshop, an adult art lab, a gallery for kids’ art, a digital lounge, and extensive office and storage space. A series of rolling garage doors along the back of the building will open up to a backyard furnished with native gardens, shaded picnic areas and a small amphitheatre, designed by award-winning landscape architect Glen Schmidt.
"It's a really exciting time for us as we get ready for the Education Pavilion,” says Lux Director Reesey Shaw. “We've known for awhile now how much more space we've needed, and for years we've heard the requests from members and supporters for more room, more programs and more parking. So it's thrilling to know that soon enough, we'll no longer have to limit class size, turn kids away, tamp down events, redirect adults interested in art education or have interns and staff crammed into tight quarters. We look forward to being the sort of center for creativity, education and and community that San Diego needs."
Lux Art Institute, located in Encinitas, Calif., is redefining the museum experience with the region’s only artist-in-residence program that invites artists to live and work on site, while producing a commissioned work of art – start to finish. This one-of-a-kind institution welcomes visitors to not only “see art,” but also to “see art happen.”
Throughout each year, Lux hosts several significant regional, national and international artists who participate in its residency program. Visitors from across the country are able to participate in exclusive liaison-led tours, providing intimate access to the artist-in-residence, the artist’s exhibition and the museum’s permanent collection of indoor and outdoor art. Lux also offers a wide range of innovative programming for all ages.
The recipient of the San Diego Architectural Foundation’s top design award, the Grand Orchid, and the first art museum in California awarded LEED certification for new construction, Lux is located alongside one of Southern California’s few remaining coastal wetlands. The five-acre site also overlooks the San Elijo Lagoon and is surrounded by a wildlife preserve that stretches to the Pacific Ocean.
Through its Phase II Capital Campaign, Lux plans to add more than 25,000 square feet of galleries and classrooms. Once completed, the new building will also feature a hilltop plaza and a series of gardens climbing between the galleries and the Artist Pavilion.
Lux Art Institute is located at 1550 South El Camino Real in Encinitas, Calif. Hours are Thursday and Friday, 1 to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and cost is $5 for two visits. For more information about donations, memberships, volunteer opportunities and more, visit http://www.luxartinstitute.org or call 760-436-6611.