The international art collective teamLab is finding its first permanent home in the United States. teamLab Museum Anaheim (tentative name) has recently been announced as part of OCVIBE, a 100-acre sports, entertainment, and arts district currently under construction in Southern California. Here, art is not an afterthought but part of the experience; it will be woven into the architecture and landscape, with exploration made easy through outdoor walkability.
teamLab Museum Anaheim will be a purpose-built structure spanning 110,000 square feet. It will be designed around teamLab’s immersive art installations, which have explored the intersections of art, technology, and the natural world since 2001. Architecture firm smith-clementi is helming the project. It imagines the museum as having a “distinct sculptural presence” within OCVIBE, and, like teamLab’s work, changing as you interact with it. The near-windowless structure will be visible from the freeway, but it will reveal itself in different ways depending on how it’s viewed. It’s imagined as a shimmering cloak whose texture evokes natural forms, most notably scales and movement. The mosaic-like exterior will subtly shift color throughout the day based on timing and weather conditions.
“Designing teamLab's permanent U.S. home let us think about their building as a reflection of their immersive experiences, often depicting the beauty of movement in nature,” explains Julie Smith-Clementi of smith-clementi. “There’s a feeling of transformation important to the exterior. While buildings are normally fixed in place, the environment can still be leveraged into the script. This building feels different depending on the direction or pace of your approach. The time of day, or movement of clouds participates in rendering its iridescent cloak, enriching what you think you see. We want the design to leave room for imagination and discovery and, like in nature, to offer something new with each visit.”
OCVIBE promises to be many things in one place, and this multi-purpose speaks to teamLab. “For teamLab, through art, we seek to explore what perception is and what existence is,” says its founder Toshiyuki Inoko. “The artworks change with the presence of people, making them an integral part of the art itself. People immerse themselves with their entire bodies, transcending the boundaries between themselves, the artworks, and the world around them, becoming part of a borderless continuity.
“At OCVIBE, where people gather and where sports, music, and culture come together, visitors share the same space, perceive the world anew through their bodies, and share that experience with others. Here, we aim to bring to life this very experience that we continuously strive to create through our art.”
The first phase of OCVIBE opens in 2027. In March, it will welcome a 5,000-capacity concert hall, followed by a chef-driven market hall. teamLab fans will have to wait a bit longer; the museum is slated to open in 2030.
The international art collective teamLab is finding its first permanent home in the United States.
teamLab Museum Anaheim (tentative name) has recently been announced as part of OCVIBE, a 100-acre sports, entertainment, and arts district currently under construction in Southern California.
Architecture firm smith-clementi is helming the project, and imagines the building as a shimmering cloak whose texture evokes natural forms, most notably scales and movement.
The mosaic-like exterior will subtly shift color throughout the day based on timing and weather conditions.
The first phase of OCVIBE opens in 2027; the museum is slated to open in 2030.
