This week’s ThrowbackThursday highlights the award-winning Planetarium at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, CA. MHP Structural Engineers teamed up with HPI Architecture to design the iconic 12,000 sq. ft. planetarium as a focal point on campus providing a destination for STEM students and enthusiasts throughout Southern California.
The Planetarium includes a 129-seat Dome Theater featuring a 50-foot projection screen; an electromagnetic-powered Foucault Pendulum to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth, an interactive science exhibit hall and a National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) “Science on a Sphere” to assist students in understanding complex environmental processes.
The OCC Planetarium showcases the ability of MHP’s structural engineers to convert challenges to opportunities through effective collaboration between designers, reviewers, and builders while preserving the client’s intent to create an iconic, celestial-inspired campus activity hub.
The project was completed in 2019 at $23 million and received the Award of Excellence from both SEAOSC (Structural Engineers Association of Southern California) & Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC) in that same year. Our lead engineers on the project were Principal, Kenneth O’Dell, S.E., & Associate, Project Manager, Daniel Fox, S.E.
#mhpse #throwbackthursday #occ
