The Water and Life Museums are born of the construction of Diamond Valley Lake (DVL), the
largest man-made water storage lake in North America. Set in the semi-arid Southern California
desert near Hemet, DVL is an integral part of the state’s water infrastructure. The construction of
these dams is the largest earthwork project in American history. The Water and Life Museums
and campus celebrate the infrastructure of water and its central role in the evolution of life and
development in California. Water = Life. No Water = No Life. The design aims to place beauty
and sustainability -- an inseparable couplet -- at the center of its agenda as an environmental
showcase. The design includes 10 steel towers, which achieve appropriate monumentality and
intimacy. As primal, minimalist form, their simplicity projects them across a large open
landscape, and complements the long, vast East Dam behind. A datum unifies buildings
horizontally, achieves intimacy while giving the building/loggia mass appropriate grandeur. A
550-kilowatt rooftop solar-power array of 3,000 solar panels generates energy for 50% of museum
building and campus needs. Harness, celebrate, and control the fierce desert sun. Courtyard
lined with 2 photovoltaic covered loggia that provide a gracious and grand covered entry to
the Museums. LEED Platinum rating was achieved by extreme cooperation and partnering of the
architect / builder /owner /engineers / landscape architect to develop a place of beauty and
best management practices.