LOT-EK
SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY art museum

an Art Museum as the new face and a filter for the adjacent Art School

type
competition entry

2003

location

San Jose, CA

client

San Jose State University

size

40,000 SF

collaborators

Maggie Peng, design lead

awards

concept & vision

we concentrate the program within a single building on the north edge of the existing U-shaped Art School retaining and enhancing the spaces' courtyard

design & architecture

the Art Museum establishes a significant presence on campus, independent from the Art School in terms of structure and circulation, yet sharing the courtyard as a landscaped outdoor room. Its elevation acts as a billboard with containers supporting large scale graphics

program & use

we stack approximately 80 shipping containers to form the main 'walls' of the building, and transform them into a sequence of different programs, including admin and service rooms, hallways, storage, and mechanical spaces. A vertical atrium on the very outside and this wall of containers act as a double insulation layer for the inner core of the building

impact & significance

a different physical and actual interaction between a new art museum and an existing art school, now interconnected yet operating separately, fosters an active education and art-making relationship between the two

Dec 12, 2025

WE START WITH THE THINGS WE FIND

WE START WITH THE THINGS WE FIND