Boston Valley’s work on the Morphosis designed Orange County Museum of Art featured in The Architect’s Newspaper
TITLE: The new OCMA wants to be a good neighbor
SOURCE: The Architect’s Newspaper
AUTHOR: Briana Miller
DATE: 06.17.2020
Boston Valley Terra Cotta is working closely with Morphosis Architects to manufacture a custom TerraClad® façade for The Orange County Museum of Art, highlighted in a recent article by The Architect’s Newspaper. Morphosis began exploring the potential for curved terra cotta extrusions during Boston Valley’s annual ACAWorkshop.
Morphosis had been in discussion with Boston Valley Terra Cotta about working together on a project and the museum presented the right opportunity. It helped that the manufacturer was willing to push terra-cotta’s typical uses, as the complex curves of the building’s facade are its signature gesture.
“The terra-cotta is like a fabric woven through the building,” Welling said. “It’s a continuous strip that starts at the end of the upper facade on the terrace and weaves into the lobby, down through the atrium and across the front facade.”
To get the terra-cotta to match Morphosis’s design—a process that has required constant communication—the panels are cast and then slumped over forms. Judging from the samples, the result will be luminous and tactile, important qualities for a museum striving for a welcoming effect.
To read this full article online, click here.

Sample pieces of the TerraClad® Rainscreen for the Orange County Museum of Art, showing the glaze and line raked texture.