‘What They’re Doing in There’

One of the most intriguing buildings in the Bay Area during the past half-century is a magically modern complex you can't help but notice while driving through Novato, in Marin County, along Highway 101.

"What are they doing in there?!" gazing passersby must have wondered throughout the years as their cars whizzed past this imposing structure with the ethereal, multi-peaked roofline.

Well, now the one-of-a-kind landmark is about to update the answer to that lingering question, as we retrace the sprawling campus' history and ponder an ambitious five-year site plan that's beginning to unfold.

Built in the 1960s for publishing giant McGraw-Hill, the building served as the warehouse for German shoe mogul Birkenstock beginning in 1992. After 28 years there, Birkenstock moved on, leaving the site unoccupied for the past five years.

Now the acclaimed Eames Institute, with the influential pioneering 20th century designs of husband-and-wife team Charles and Ray Eames at its heart, recently acquired the Birkenstock building, and announced plans to transform the campus into what they envision—"a world-class art and design museum."

Devoted to advancing the legacy of the Eameses, John Cary, President and CEO of the Eames Institute, explains that one of the Institute's goals is to create a fully immersive experience for visitors.

"So immersive that you feel like you're in a different place, deeply in touch with whom these designers were as human beings, where did it stem from, almost conceptualized as much as it is immersive," he says.

Launched publicly in 2022, the appropriately named Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

"The Eameses had an insatiable curiosity, from everything I've read and understood about them," Cary adds. "When we came up with the name…we thought about what is the equivalent of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry [referencing Harry Potter's fictional boarding school], which has had such staying power.