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Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park Interpretive Center

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Project Description

The 932-acre Natural Area Park is most recognized for its dramatic geological rock formations. It is also a regional destination for outdoor activities such as group camping, equestrian programs and horseback riding, a junior ranger program, picnicking and hiking. In addition, the park includes prehistoric cultural resources, geologic artifacts, and sensitive Native American sites. The park receives approximately 105,000 visitors per year and is a popular film location for the motion picture industry.

The new Interpretive Center will be LEED platinum certified, include a multi-purpose exhibit room, and will accommodate educational and recreational activities. Because the new building itself will be “green,” the Los Angeles County Arts Commission has selected an artist who is committed to integrating green technology into the artwork. This can be accomplished through content which expresses principles of sustainability as well as the direct use of sustainable materials in the artwork. The civic art project area includes the entry walkway and a courtyard at the main entrance, which connects the new Interpretive Center with the historic Ranger’s Residence and is scheduled to be completed in 2011.

About the Artist

Didier Hess, a collaborative led by Oliver Hess and Jenna Didier, attempts to nurture their life long interests in art, public life, the built environment and the infrastructures we create to tie those forces together.  Through their art they strive to enliven and connect a community to the web of relationships that sustains it by making that pulse visible. Didier and Hess are also directors of Matierals & Applications, a non-profit research center that funcions as an exhibition space and community hub for the interface between architecture, art and the public at large.