teamLab, the Tokyo art collective behind some of the most visited immersive art spaces in the world, is opening its first permanent museum in the United States. It will be in Anaheim, California, a few miles from Disneyland, and is scheduled to open in 2030.
The museum will anchor OCVIBE, a 100-acre sports, entertainment and arts district under construction next to the Honda Center, the developer announced on October 29. The building is planned at about 110,000 square feet.
A building that changes colour with the sun
Because teamLab’s galleries are largely windowless, the architects have treated the outside as a skin. The design, by smith-clementi with LPA as architect of record, wraps the building in a scale-like pattern whose colour shifts with the sunlight through the day. It will sit across from ARTIC, Anaheim’s glass-walled transit centre, and be visible from the freeway.
Julie Smith-Clementi said the design takes its cue from teamLab’s interest in movement in nature, and changes as visitors approach, as the light moves and as clouds pass.
teamLab founder Toshiyuki Inoko described the project as the collective’s first major museum in North America. The group’s work responds to the people moving through it, so visitors effectively become part of the art.
Why Anaheim
OCVIBE is being privately funded with a $5 billion commitment from the Samueli family, owners of the Anaheim Ducks. Plans include more than 2,000 homes, 20 acres of open space, three miles of walking trails, three entertainment venues and what the developer calls the nation’s largest outdoor public art gallery. The first phase, including a 5,000-capacity concert hall, opens in 2027, with full completion scheduled for 2033.
Mike Waterman, president and chief executive of Visit Anaheim, said teamLab’s choice was a strong signal of where the destination is heading, and predicted it would draw new visitors and keep them in the city longer.
For teamLab, Anaheim means a permanent home in the U.S. market. Founded in 2001, the collective brings together artists, programmers, engineers, animators, mathematicians and architects. Its permanent venues in Tokyo, including teamLab Planets and teamLab Borderless, have become fixtures on visitors’ itineraries.
Anaheim already draws millions of tourists each year to the Disneyland Resort. A permanent teamLab museum gives the city a cultural attraction aimed at the same crowds, and one that does not need a theme park ticket.