COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts

COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts, opened from 2002 to 2008, was designed as a cultural museum and educational center dedicated to exploring the unique American contribution to the character of wine, food and the arts.

Auerbach Glasow worked closely with the architect to develop a lighting palette sensitive to the architecture for most of COPIA’s interior and exterior spaces.  The firm designed a multi-layered, highly complementary and flexible lighting system that met the demands of fast-changing events and arts programs.

A wall inscription at the entrance, dramatically lit from in-grade floor fixtures, is highlighted by accent lights on a suspended low voltage rail, which appears to float through the main entry and into the crescent lobby over the information desk that connects the two spaces.

The crescent lobby is a grand glass-enclosed two-story space featuring a second floor mezzanine gallery. The multifunctional spaces are used as art display areas and for special events.

Auerbach Glasow located the light tracks at peaks and troughs of the Core Exhibition Gallery’s wave-form ceiling, which echoes the shape of the exterior façade. This track pattern is emulated in The Changing Exhibitions Gallery to provide a visual link between the rooms.

Points of interest in the exterior lighting design included vegetable and herb gardens, the River Concert Terrace fronting the Napa River and an allée of poplar trees.

Design Architect: Ennead (formerly Polshek Partnership Architects)
Architect of Record: Fong & Chan Architects
Size: 80,000 SF
Completion: 2002