Fountain Valley, CA 2019.  

The proposed plan for a new visitor center building, including a large meeting room and an exhibit gallery. When completed, this new center will add 7000 square feet of visitor space to the OCWD Fountain Valley campus.

The Acorn Group and James Freed Design were commissioned to provide conceptual design documents and exhibit drawings to assist the Orange County Water District with a grant application. By telling this story in the context of the Santa Ana River Watershed, the District will be able to enhance visitor appreciation for and understanding of the agency’s broader stewardship role. James Freed Design also provided architectural conceptual design for the proposed visitor center building.

Project Credits: The Acorn Group, interpretive content development and writing. James Freed Design, Architectural and exhibit conceptual design.

The Exhibit Gallery focuses on interpreting the huge Santa Ana River Watershed, and several habitat zones from the High Sierra Alpine environment to the coastal marshes.

Conceptual design view of the proposed new visitor center building.

View inside the lobby at the visitor reception station. Exhibit Gallery entrance beyond.

The High Alpine diorama exhibit and the kinetic sand interactive exhibit. This exhibit allows visitors to see how changes in land elevation that they make themselves affects the flow of the Santa Ana River.

The Coastal Marsh diorama exhibit. The glass railing allows for viewing both above and below the tidal waterline. An immersive theater on the left in this view provides the visitor with a flyover view of the watershed.