Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California, will start work this year on a US$19m (€16.8m, £12.3m) planetarium development as part of a larger seven-year US$965m (€854m, £625.2m) renovation to its district campuses.
The 120-seat planetarium will include a 3D immersion theatre with a 50ft (15.2m) dome, a large Foucault pendulum and open space for exhibits.
The project is being funded by a bond measure passed by Orange County voters in 2012 for the larger US$965m (€861m, £626m) development of the college campus. The masterplan also calls for several new academic buildings, multiple renovations on existing buildings, a new gym and pool, a 145-bedroom boutique hotel, a restaurant and a four-storey parking garage, among other projects.
At present, Orange County has only one planetarium – the Santa Ana College planetarium. The college is currently conducting four studies to look at how the impacts of development and whether original architect Richard Neutra’s historic buildings would be affected by the project.
