Eames Institute Unveils Novato Museum Plan on 88-Acre Birkenstock Site

In the North Bay, the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity unveiled plans on Tuesday to transform the 88-acre former Birkenstock campus along Highway 101 in Novato into a major museum showcasing the legacy of industrial designers Ray and Charles Eames, Sam Mondros reported in The San Francisco Standard. Along the San Mateo County coast, Pescadero's 40-acre Costanoa eco-resort kicked off its Nov. 1–Dec. 31 Winter Escape season featuring guided somatic forest therapy sessions, editor Samantha Campos reported in East Bay Magazine.

Eames Institute Plans Novato Museum Following $36M Birkenstock Campus Purchase

Cofounded in 2019 by Ray and Charles Eames' granddaughter Llisa Demetrios and led by Chief Executive Officer John Cary, the Eames Institute holds more than 40,000 artifacts from the Eames Office, operates artist residencies at Eames Ranch outside Petaluma, sponsors Sonoma-based organizations, and acquired Jackson Square's William Stout Architectural Books in 2022 and Swiss publisher Lars Müller Publishers in 2025. In 2025, the nonprofit purchased the 88-acre former Birkenstock campus on Highway 101 in Novato for $36 million.

According to tax filings reviewed by The Standard, the institute's net assets grew from about $250,000 in 2019 to $136 million at the end of 2024 as its workforce expanded from 7 employees to 41 (with Cary's compensation rising from $279,000 in 2019 to $584,000 in 2024 and Demetrios earning $289,000 in 2024, up from $182,000 in 2020).

In 2024, the American Endowment Foundation (AEF) — a donor-advised fund holding $8.4 billion in assets — donated $63.2 million to the Eames Institute, accounting for 99.8% of the organization's 2024 contributions and 47% of its total assets. Tax documents show that Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia — who provided initial funding for the institute, gave $106 million to AEF in 2022 (its largest gift that year by more than $30 million), donated $8 million to California's Proposition 39 voter-ID measure this month, and serves as the federal government's chief design officer leading the National Design Studio — is a founding donor. While architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne has raised questions about Gebbia's political profile, an Eames Institute spokesperson stated that Gebbia "is a founding donor who continues to support" the nonprofit and that "Joe's views are his own and do not reflect the Eames Institute."

Costanoa Eco-Resort Highlights Somatic Forest Therapy Near Pescadero

South of Half Moon Bay at 2001 Rossi Road off Highway 1 near Pescadero, the 40-acre Costanoa eco-resort — which opened in 1999 under Joie de Vivre adjacent to 30,000 acres of state parks and protected beaches and was updated last year by new operator Highway West Vacations — offers North Lodge suites, Douglas fir cabins, glamping bungalows, tent villages, RV hookup sites, and the all-electric Pebble Flow travel trailer alongside the refreshed Cascade log-cabin restaurant and a resident herd of pygmy goats.

Running its seasonal Winter Escape package from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, Costanoa also hosts 3-hour guided forest therapy walks led by somatic ecotherapist Wendy Figone, designed to counter "directed attention fatigue" through sensory mindfulness exercises in the coastal redwoods and firs.