Specialist This category of post is kept from showing in the blogroll. It’s for Special Lists. Ha.

MacLac Building D – Merit

October 5, 2022| 2022 Design Award Recipient, 2022 Merit Award, Specialist|

2022 AIA CA DESIGN AWARDS

merit award

MacLac Building D

Architect: Marcy Wong Donn Logan Architects with PLAD Peter Logan Architecture and Design

Project Location: San Francisco, California

Photographer: Bill Hustace Photography

This project is the adaptive reuse of a historic brick structure occupied by various quasi-industrial functions. The renovation focuses on razing the maze resulting from a century-plus accretion of ad hoc partitions, random levels, and obsolete industrial equipment installations; exposing a previously hidden, magnificent volume of the building; repairing and refurbishing the original materials and features; reinforcing the building with 21st Century steel seismic elements, and bringing extra natural lights and open space.

”This handsome adaptive reuse project shows a well resolved and elegant seismic solution.” – 2022 Design Awards Jury

Design for Integration

The innovative steel ‘king post’ truss, perforated steel frames, and suspended Cross Laminated Timber partial second-floor structural design allow the building’s geometry and original wood and masonry to clearly read while providing seismic safety and additional leasable floor area. LEED v.4 Gold Certification building design aspects of the project are achieved in the areas of HVAC, recyclable and non-toxic materials, water-saving fixtures, abundant daylighting including skylight and windows, and high albedo roofing.

Design for Equitable Communities

In addition to exterior upgrades including new trees, sidewalk, crosswalks, etc. the community’s usability of the building is thanks to the structure’s full seismic upgrade which is visible only from the interior. A major seismic component is a cross laminated timber mezzanine structure suspended from highly refined king-post steel trusses.

The benefits of this project are a cleaner, more vibrant and safer neighborhood and the stimulation of economic vitality through job creation resulting from the metamorphosis of a decrepit, vacant shell into a seismically safe, architecturally upgraded building whose functions will both serve and provide jobs to the community.

Design for Ecosystems

The project has a high percentage of natives, but are also expected to be mixed with non-natives to meet tenant aesthetic expectations.

The landscape design of this project contributes to a healthy environment and ecosystem. The plant palette consists of many drought tolerant and California native plant species such as: Arctostaphylos ‘La Panza’ (Grey Manzanita), Carex tumulicola (Foothill Sedge), Epilobium canum (California Fuschia), Ceanothus ‘Yankee Point’, and many more. California native trees surrounding the site like the Arbutus ‘Marina’ provides habitat to birds. The bio-diverse selection of plants provide forage and refuge to hummingbirds, bees, moths, and many species of local pollinators throughout the seasons. The landscape at the ground level and the roof level delivers layers of benefits for the local ecosystem.

Design for Water

The project is a small sized adaptive reuse interior building renovation without a roof terrace, so there is no rainwater collection and storage. The site of the building goes from property line to property line, so there is no irrigation. There is only one 63 square feet ADA restroom inside the building using non -recyclable water. It is possible to reuse grey/blackwater inside the building due to different occupant.

Design for Economy

This project is designed to far surpass the standard level of adaptive reuse for functional objectives. It aims to create an architecturally uplifting atmosphere and historically responsible improvements, while simultaneously achieving numerous technical goals of energy efficiency, state of the art seismic resistance, environmental sustainability and ADA compliance. The innovative steel ‘king post’ truss, perforated steel frames, and suspended Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) partial second floor structural design allow the building’s geometry and original wood and masonry to clearly read while providing seismic safety and additional leasable floor area.

Design for Energy

LEED v.4 C+S Gold Certification aspects of the project are achieved in the areas of heating / ventilating / air conditioning, recyclable and non-toxic building materials, water saving fixtures, abundant daylighting (skylight and windows), high albedo roofing, accessibility to public transportation.

By using California’s Title 24-2019 for code compliance and ASHRAE 90.1-2010 for LEEDv4 C+S., both Code Compliance and Performance Models were performed.

To achieve higher levels of energy efficiency, the electric lighting is grouped into different zones which correspond to primary and secondary daylight harvesting zones (as defined in Title 24).
All light fixtures are equipped with full range dimming drivers and connected to dimming controls. Upon signal from the daylight sensors located throughout the various spaces, the drivers adjust the lighting to compensate for the amount of daylight penetrating the zone. The dynamic range of the drivers are 100%-1% and the system is capable of continuous dimming. Thus, as the daylight condition changes the system responds and changes to adjust the overall balance of light to appropriate ratios. In this way maximum energy efficiency is attained at any one time.

Design for Well-being

A major seismic component is a cross laminated timber mezzanine structure suspended from highly refined king-post steel trusses. Adding to the building’s usability by the community and visitors are completely new electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems.

The community will appreciate the types of uses and tenants that would avail themselves of this project’s design. A 60-foot-long skylight along the roof ridge daylights the formerly dark interior. Other modern insertions enhance the interior architecture and function: guardrails at and open stair of perforated metal at and to the mezzanine, European Oak mezzanine flooring; LED lit brick walls, wood slat ceilings.

Design for Resources

The project is using an existing historic building rather than building from the ground up. The resulting reduction in demolition waste as well as the reduction in carbon emissions from eliminated new structural and envelope materials is very significant. These reduction impacts are able to be quantified but those calculations are not currently intended.

We repurposed the old heavy timber top chords of trusses as spacers between steel channel top chords of symmetrical king post trusses on each side of the existing trusses, the new steel channel encapsulates the existing timber top chords leaving the bottom surface of the historic wood exposed.
Once the rods joining the two sides were installed, they could be tightened to adjust the height of the ridge assisting with aligning and leveling the old roof, and existing web members and bottom chords of the trusses could be removed leaving the light and elegant news trusses.

CLT floor slabs, designed for 100 psf assembly loading, form a mezzanine suspended by hanger rods dropped down from the kingpost nodes on the roof trusses, leaving a column-free lower level with an open center area that allows light from the new skylight to reach the entire lower level.

Design for Change

We rejuvenated and repurposed a 1906 warehouse to last another 100 years. The seismic resisting system for the rejuvenated building is an ultra-stiff moment frame system consisting of deep columns and beams formed with HSS acting as flanges and perforated steel plate acting as webs accommodating the punched windows on the long sides of the buildings, combined with stiff concentric braced frames on the gabled ends of the building.

All light fixtures are equipped with full range dimming drivers and connected to dimming controls. Upon signal from the daylight sensors located throughout the various spaces, the drivers adjust the lighting to compensate for the amount of daylight penetrating the zone. The dynamic range of the drivers are 100%-1% and the system is capable of continuous dimming. Thus, as the daylight condition changes the system responds and changes to adjust the overall balance of light to appropriate ratios. In this way maximum energy efficiency is attained at any one time.

Design for Discovery

The building is completed in May, 2022 and it haven’t been occupied yet, that why there is no post occupancy evaluation or occupant satisfaction survey conducted. But we will pay attention on the building usage in future and make improvement if needed. Generally, we hold meetings with clients and use questionnaire to collect needs and questions from clients/users to ensure the good condition of building and satisfaction of occupant.
A major seismic component is a cross laminated timber mezzanine structure suspended from highly refined king-post steel trusses. The benefits of this project are a cleaner, more vibrant and safer neighborhood and the stimulation of economic vitality through job creation resulting from the metamorphosis of a decrepit, vacant shell into a seismically safe, architecturally upgraded building whose functions will both serve and provide jobs to the community.

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Mar Vista – Merit

October 5, 2022| 2022 Design Award Recipient, 2022 Merit Award, Specialist|

2022 AIA CA DESIGN AWARDS

merit award

Mar Vista

Architect: Woods + Dangaran

Project Location: Los Angeles, California

Photographer: Joe Fletcher

The façade of this home is modern and mysterious, an intimation of the spaces that lie beyond the solid privacy wall and the rhythm of the slender cedar louvers. The house capitalizes on its hilltop site with extensive al fresco living spaces and striking views from all rooms. Meticulously detailed and masterfully crafted, the natural materials palette of concrete, wood, and metal complements the setting and inspires the highly textural interior design.

“A handsome and elegant house utilizing a well rounded approach to design excellence.” – 2022 Design Awards Jury

Design for Integration

This home frames expansive views while placing emphasis on privacy and sophistication. Sequenced spaces carve out moments of serenity and transition. Louvers cast linear shadow through interior corridors and regulate the natural light. A curated and timeless palette is used throughout the home and will patina well over time. Energy efficient design strategies (such as water wise strategies, solar panels, and drought tolerant plantings) are seamlessly integrated into the design concept.

Design for Equitable Communities

The central concept of this home considers the history of the area, the west coast context, the design of the homes in the area, and the community itself. The residence takes optimal advantage of the sloping terrain, sunlight, and views, and to provide a private retreat for the occupants. A minimalistic exterior elevates the neighborhood context and promotes a serene atmosphere while still providing a glimpse at the home beyond the privacy wall. Exterior landscaping softens the exterior and promotes a lovely, walkable neighborhood.

Design for Ecosystems

Integrated landscape is essential to this home. Visible from nearly every room, all landscaping is primarily native or drought-tolerant plantings. Forming and L and looking inward, the property priorities outdoor space. Occupants can access or view greenery from every room – front, central and side yards make it simple. Along with a surround of hedges, the form of the home buffers the occupants against environmental noise from neighbors and the city. Floor to ceiling drapery and interior plaster also soften interior reverb and dampen noise in the heavily glazed hallways.

Design for Water

On a slight grade, stormwater is managed and collected on this site. While primarily native and low water use plantings are used in the landscaping, graywater is used for the irrigating needs that remain. The interior of the home is plumbed for future graywater use and low-flow fixtures are installed throughout.

Design for Economy

The owners of this home invested in a curated and timeless palette and a limited number of finish materials are used throughout the home. Materials used outdoors were selected so that they will wear or patina well over time – cedar louvers and siding, concrete, ipe wood decking, and plaster.

Design for Energy

To increase the energy efficiency of this home, we utilized many combined strategies. Radiant heat on both floors and passive cooling strategies – pocketing doors, louver and drapery shielded glazing – balance one another. Balanced, natural light eliminated the need for artificial lighting throughout most of the day. Solar panels provide electricity to the home, and solar hot water panels heat water for both the home and the pool. Rainwater is collected onsite to irrigate the plantings, though most are drought tolerant. The home is also plumbed for future graywater use.

Design for Well-being

The design supports physical and psychological wellbeing in a number of ways. A swimming pool, sport court (with a basketball hoop and a hockey goal), sauna, and a dog run encourage exercise. A healthy connection to nature is found throughout the home; from nearly every room one can see or step out to greenery. The fully-pocketing doors of the great room open to an outdoor dining room and herb garden and a backyard. The floors have radiant heat and every room has operable windows and drapery, giving occupants full control over their thermal comfort.

Design for Resources

Our primary strategy regarding resources was to simplify the palette throughout the home. All lumber on this project was all natural and zero-VOC in material and finish. Western red cedar was used in louvers, siding, and ceilings throughout the first floor. Casework, flooring, and plasters are also consistent from room to room. Materials selected – concrete, grey-stained cedar, stone – will have a long life and will patina well over the lifespan of the building.

Design for Change

Seismic activity poses the greatest risk to this site, and all structural and foundational elements were built to code with durable materials to mitigate this risk as much as possible. Survivable Strategies are handled by the homeowners regarding safety protocols and the use of water and food storage systems.

Design for Discovery

This project allowed for us to engage with new design techniques. Such as using rain screen detailing and utilizing plaster on both the exterior and interior. We also added new parapet detail, to make skylight flush with the roof, a new critical detail that we now incorporate into every project. These are small details that contribute to a clean and polished design. Walking through the home you’re going to feel the quality of this work and the attention to detail. These new approaches of craft have been shared and practiced among the firm.

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SoFi Stadium and Entertainment District – Merit

October 5, 2022| 2022 Design Award Recipient, 2022 Merit Award, Specialist|

2022 AIA CA DESIGN AWARDS

merit award & special commendation: design for water

SoFi Stadium and Entertainment District

Architect: HKS Architects, Inc.

Project Location: Inglewood, California

Photographers: Kevin Korczyk and Nick Lehoux

Home to NFL games for the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams, SoFi Stadium plays host to sporting events, live performances, opening and closing ceremonies of the 2028 Olympics and community events. An outdoor plaza ties the stadium and adjacent YouTube Theater together. The stadium is open-air, while fully covered by a transparent roof that opens and closes on demand. Cutting-edge technologies are integrated throughout, including the dual-sided Infinity video board that redefines the live entertainment experience.

”A catalyst in a blighted area – it is so much more than a football stadium. From the landscape approach to the master plan knitting it into the community, it is very successful.” – 2022 Design Awards Jury

Design for Integration

SoFi’s design is informed by Southern California’s industry, architecture, lifestyle, climate, geography and landscape, combining to create an authentic Southern California expression. The sweeping coastline and the beauty and strength of the Pacific Ocean contribute to the clean and dramatic curves of the stadium’s unmistakable architecture that reflects the region’s indoor-outdoor lifestyle. The stadium’s translucent roof, seating bowl, concourses and landscape were sculpted to create an outdoor feel while providing the flexibility of a traditional domed stadium.

Design for Equitable Communities

At the start of the project, Inglewood had a troubling crime rate, high unemployment, failing school system. By 2011, the city was on the path to bankruptcy. It was a city devoid of hope with no aspiration for the future,” said Butts, Inglewood Mayor. This year, fewer murders have been committed in Inglewood than in Santa Monica or Pasadena. Unemployment dropped from 17.5 percent in 2011 to 4.7 percent in 2019. Finally, this largely minority community of 110,000 is climbing back to its feet. HKS supported community outreach programs in the neighborhood including ACE Mentorship at a local high school.

Design for Ecosystems

The site was adapted from the Hollywood Park Racetrack, an increasingly obsolete land use regarded as unsustainable, SoFi Stadium serves as linchpin for a major urban campus that restores and revitalizes natural ecosystems. Limits to ecological restoration — due to climate change, impermeability, heat island, and air/water quality issues — led to non-traditional solutions, including cultivating a Mediterranean biome to restore habitat. Characterized by wide arrays of plantings and shrubs suited to hot, dry summers and frost-free winters, the Mediterranean biome offers many native species and convergent evolution (e.g., trees to adapted to survive wildfires). In keeping with its Southern California environs, SoFi stadium’s landscape includes highly diverse, low-maintenance plant ecologies with 5,000 trees including desert Palm and Joshua trees, sycamores found along arroyos, and mountain evergreens. Arranged in various microclimate zones around the stadium park, this rich biodiverse habitat serves regional warblers, monarch butterflies, honeybees and hundreds of other species along with shrubs, groundcovers, wetlands and meadows. Supporting wildlife and human ecosystems, a 6-acre lake treats stormwater and serves irrigation needs. Together, these ecological services build resilience and will increase as the landscape matures, creating a public resource and veritable museum of the biome’s diversity.

Design for Water

The 300-acre site uses holistic strategies for water conservation. The parks and open spaces are performative landscapes collecting, filtering pollutants, and reusing about 75% of total stormwater through rolling arroyos, bioswales, underground cisterns, and a 6-acre lake. The first lake in California to mix stormwater with reclaimed water, and the first-ever filtration system cleaning water before reuse, while supporting the community as a public amenity. California officials have lauded the conservation of drinking water, offsetting potable water demands by 75 acre-feet per year in year one, only allowing reclaimed water for irrigation, and an exemplar of “advancing environmentally sustainable communities.”

Design for Economy

The Hollywood Park site was secured by Kroenke and its development partners prior to HKS’ selection and was “build-ready” for the project.The development mix was conceived to capitalize on the three venues – SoFi stadium, YouTube Theater, and American Airlines Plaza – to capture the best tenants (including the relocated NFL Network) and world-class events. The connection of the venues has created operational efficiencies which increases flexibility, number of days programmed and reduced floor area. The development is one of the largest private investments in southern California history (also first in the modern sports era) and is a transformational resource for the City of Inglewood, without the need to divert public finding away from other vital programs. The masterplan and project were designed to lift the real estate in a city that had lagged the region for decades. The city has already seen this lift with the Forum renovation and reopening (17,500 capacity) and the relocation of the Clippers NBA team with a new arena. The private funding allowed the team to focus their efforts on the vision for the building, which is to have a 100+ year lifespan. Through ROI and Life Cycle Analysis, we were able to get higher level of finishes and materials through out the building.

Design for Energy

The original project brief called for a multi-purpose venue guaranteed to host events regardless of climatic conditions. While this requirement would traditionally demand a fully conditioned enclosed space, we challenged this assumption and created a passively ventilated open-air stadium that protects patrons from the elements. Capitalizing on Southern California’s mild climate, the open-air stadium allows natural ventilation throughout the bowl, while the fritted ETFE canopy, comprised of more than 300 panels, reduces solar heat gain and provides a skylit environment. This includes 46 operable panels that can open to maximize airflow and relieve air movement during differing wind patterns to create a dynamic and systematic approach to handle a variety of climatic conditions. The panels feature a 65% frit pattern to reduce solar gain. We collaborated with RWDI, which used thermodynamic modeling to evaluate wind direction, temperature, and velocity to design the bowl and roof shell. This ensured the stadium form is optimized to promote air movement throughout the venue. Ceiling fans are used throughout the open-air concourses – only interior clubs, suites, and back of house spaces are conditioned. The canopy provides shade to exterior spaces that in-turn reduces the heat-island effect.All concourse circulation spaces are naturally lit. The canyons, roof, and seating bowl combine to create a series of passively ventilated and naturally lit amenity spaces. Vegetated canyons create naturally lit outdoor club environments, despite being 50’ below grade.

Design for Well-being

Its open-air concourses create continuous views inward to the field and outward to the city to seamlessly merge the stadium’s landscape architecture with the surrounding Inglewood community and beyond. The setting removes boundaries and invites recreation, gatherings and outdoor life. Lake Park, which is open to the public daily, promotes walking with a continuous path that circumnavigates the waterfall feature. Along the path, informational didactics teach about the diversity of California plant typologies, unifying the patrons with nature. Visitors can also relax on a lakefront deck or in seating sculpted within elegant concrete planters. The stadium was designed as a series of experiences, each quadrant representing unique food options from various Los Angeles neighborhoods. This encourages fans to get up, walk around, and sample the different offerings. Those options include a variety of healthy choices including vegetarian, vegan, paleo and plant-based items. The covered American Airlines Plaza hosts food markets and other community events. SoFi Stadium has already been used for food drives, a voting center, and a COVID testing and vaccination site.

Design for Resources

Constructed primarily of concrete and steel, SoFi Stadium is built to last for 100 years. Other material selections include:-Long-span cable truss roof structure reduced steel tonnage required for roof structure by more than 30%. -ETFE-UV impervious material that allows for daylighting while reducing solar heat gain. 30+ year lifespan and 100% recyclable. ETFE is both easily recyclable and long-lasting, holding up to extreme climatic conditions. It is cost-effective to produce, and has a low-energy manufacturing and transportation process, thanks in large part to its light weight.-Aluminum panels – 60+ years lifespan with custom finish that reflects changing sunlight colors throughout the day. Aluminum is 100% recyclable.-Lime cement plaster – cement plaster that uses lime instead of Portland cement as a base. Lime plaster is more flexible, less prone to cracking, and the manufacturing of it is better for the environment.-Concrete used a high-quality granite aggregate imported (by water) from British Columbia. This resulted in a significant embodied carbon savings, even when the transportation emissions were included. The aggregate allowed significant reductions to cement content from baseline mixes, which used softer local aggregates. Cement is responsible for 90% of the embodied carbon of concrete, so cement reduction achieves significant embodied carbon reductions.

Design for Change

The proximity to the Inglewood seismic fault line also necessitated designing the stadium to withstand earthquakes. Working with our engineering partners, we structurally separated the roof structure from the other project components to allow each to respond independently during a seismic event. This means that the stadium bowl, the performance venue, the roof, and the plaza can move without fear of them interacting with the roof structure. The project required a large excavation, which has a tall retaining wall. The seating bowl structure sits on the base of the excavation and is independent of the retaining wall. The roof structure spans across the bowl and is seismically independent, albeit with some gravity support from the bowl structure. CHANGEAlthough the primary use of SoFi Stadium is for NFL football games, it is designed to accommodate other sports and entertainment typologies as well as community organizations/ events. In addition to the upcoming Super Bowl, College Football National Championship Game, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 2028 Summer Olympics and several other headline events, the venue’s flexibility will also allow for other activities such as soccer, professional wrestling, esports, award shows, the NFL Draft and more, all in a setting that we call ‘authentic sustainability.’ And that flexibility provides a permanent uplifting social and economic environment for the city of Inglewood, Southern California, and the world.We researched 100 years of climatic data and future projections to develop a passive design strategy at SoFi Stadium – open concourses, landscape terraces, operable panels, perforated shell, and ETFE canopy create a passively ventilated and naturally lit environment. The project’s infrastructure was designed for the ultimate flexibility for the owner, operator, and users. The four key elements of the larger district – SoFi stadium, American Airlines Plaza, Performance Venue, and Lake Park – can function independently or as cohesive unit depending on the event.

Design for Discovery

The embedding of the structure 100-feet below ground, created an opportunity to transform the fan experience. Upon arrival, visitors are greeted with an elegant profile, but they do not experience the stadium’s entire scale until passing through the landscaped canyons – the ultimate discovery moment.The American Airlines Plaza, Lake Park and other public spaces encourage visitors to learn about the diverse regional landscapes, as well as providing opportunities to improve their well-being by walking, jogging or simply meditatingA 21st century evolution of media technology, the stadium’s circular videoboard creates a more immersive experience and provides a canvas for a myriad of content including fantasy stats, other sporting events and news.Project information, including the contractor and fabricator who could advise on the financial and supply chain impact of proposed modifications to the Model of Record. To meet the challenge of communicating the design intent and ensuring that the stadium would be built as designed, the architects worked with the California State Architecture Board to develop a digital authentication tool and data repository that supported a direct-to-fabrication workflow. This now-patented application allowed all stakeholders to access Another major feature of SoFi Stadium is the videoboard. It is the largest in sports at 2.2 million pounds and 120-yards long. It is also the first-ever dual-sided 4K LED display system – displaying images on both sides and making it readable from every seat.All 80 million LED pixels can be uniquely or congruently programmed with specialized content. A state-of-the-art audio system with more than 260 speakers delivers a wattage equivalence of 1,500 home theater systems. Together, they produce a unique experience for fans who can watch live action, instant replays, get real-time fantasy stats, or even watch different programming.

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The Press – Merit

October 5, 2022| 2022 Design Award Recipient, 2022 Merit Award, Specialist|

2022 AIA CA DESIGN AWARDS

merit award

The Press

Architect: Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects

Project Location: Costa Mesa, California

Photographer: Matthew Millman

An abandoned Los Angeles Times print facility is reborn as a creative office in this 430,000-sf adaptive re-use project. Portions of the once dark, monolithic three-story complex are selectively subtracted to achieve thriving habitability while retaining its industrial past. Subtraction reveals the previously unseen: the high volume of a former press line, or austere steel once hidden by tinted glass. Spaces for machines become spaces for people.

“The design successfully preserves and upgrades; the new interventions are well conceived and executed. The open space and landscape design are particularity strong and additive to the user experience.” – 2022 Design Awards Jury

Design for Integration

Selective preservation and intentional growth distinguish this complex adaptive re-use, which utilized nearly every aspect of its previous life. The design celebrates material and organic markers of time—as-is paint chips, rail spurs and conveyor belts and an existing tree placed to grow through the structure itself—hint at history, site and context. The project also reincorporates an existing rail line into a bike and pedestrian trail as part of Orange County’s master plan.

Design for Equitable Communities

Design for Ecosystems

In the spirit of reuse and recycling, a number of mature trees were relocated within the campus to not only preserve what had been, but what was to come. Many of the trees that either still exist or were relocated signify a profound viewer experience, taking advantage of the selective subtraction of the hardscape and building to let in the fresh breath of natural moments. Openings in the loading dock canopy allow for tree canopies to poke through, a poetic intersection of new life with the industrial past.

Design for Water

Design for Economy

Given the existing facility’s mass, the goal was to maintain the beauty of cavernous “cathedral” spaces while maximizing efficiency of space. The team worked closely with the structural engineer, evaluating the integrity of the existing structure to understand the most effective ways of creating various openings and new mezzanine levels, selectively removing some elements and preserving others. All milestones included cost estimates to parse the budgetary impact of each move. Cost reduction exercises focused on maintaining design integrity while providing needed spaces.

Design for Energy

Design for Well-being

Every move – the selective removal of concrete panels to allow for light and views, the sequence of each entry, the adjacency of every program element – was modeled and reviewed with daylight and wind simulations. Natural light and access to views also drove liberal incorporation of operable windows and inserted balconies throughout the interior. The Rail Trail provides a scenic walking path right on campus that not only promotes recreation and “thinking while walking” opportunities, but also connects the campus to the great community with the publicly accessible amenity.

Design for Resources

Material selection stressed selective subtraction and minimal addition. Glass fills newly-opened corners to accentuate existing elements. Every new material was chosen based on how it would age, embracing the march of time and its residual quirks.

Avoidance of newness for its own sake informed use of thermally-modified pine wood which is both relatively low-impact due to fast growth, will age to echo the original building’s patina.

Three varieties of Radiata Pine decking were used throughout, including the open-air lobby, entry court stairs, park and outdoor decks and seating.

Design for Change

The overall aesthetic vision embraces history and imperfection, patinas and paint chips and all. By incorporating the concept of wabi sabi – the idea of beauty being imperfect and incomplete – the renovation has a texture and character that hints at the past and creates a dialogue about site and context. The project maintains a local history in a region that is still developing a story about its past, present, and future.

Structural elements, meanwhile, celebrate the original facility’s strongest constituent parts, elevating utilitarian steel beams into dramatic spatial framing devices without relegating them to the realm of the decorative.

Such an approach not only anticipates but celebrates the process of material aging and organic growth. An existing ficus tree at the site was transplanted into the open-air lobby, with the expectation that it would grow through all the structures and guardrails, eventually forming a natural canopy.

Resiliency upgrades address two primary building threats: flooding, due to the flat and low-lying nature of the site, and earthquakes. All new structural elements meet current building code requirements for earthquakes, and areas that previously did not have been upgraded to ensure the safety of all occupants and the resiliency of the buildings. With regard to flooding threats, new site grading directs water away from the buildings and into landscaped stormwater retention basins and bioswales.

Design for Discovery

The factory line and adjacent site based on its sheer monumental scale is rich with opportunities for happenstance interactions as well as quieter moments of discovery and serendipity.

An exterior ‘Atrium’ is inserted into the central press line, providing casual workspace and chance encounters as circulatory paths cross. From certain spots, conveyor treads spanning the former press are visible in their entirety, a vantage point that would have once been mechanically impossible. A ‘Skycut’ slices across the building to create pedestrian paths through the site. A former mechanical penthouse becomes a hideaway rooftop bar. Loading docks and canopy overhangs become continuous back porches – opportunities for reflection, fitness, and collaboration. Leviathan volumes for printing presses become cathedral-like workplaces.

Not unlike a cathedral is a modern variation on stained glass that enjoys its own “golden hour:” a transparent Southwestern-themed color field mural, when sunlit at just the right angle, is projected upwards onto the walls to create the illusion of continuity with the sky above.

Though conceptualized years earlier, the adaptive re-use’s key concepts happen to align with the ideal of a “post-pandemic workplace:” connectivity to nature and amenities, which enjoys the added benefit of natural ventilation throughout. Unique indoor-outdoor spaces at every scale are layered with landscaping and graphic murals and are discovered as one traverses the project. These varied experiences speak to the varied personalities and moods of the occupants.

The Press can serve as a model for other types of campuses with aggregated programs—where a mix of tenants/departments/schools can intersect with each other adjacent to public amenities (like the Rail Trail) and retail (like the Canteen). All set within an reused structure that is extremely porous, flexible and encourages indoor-outdoor interaction.

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Three Gables – Merit

October 5, 2022| 2022 Design Award Recipient, 2022 Merit Award, Specialist|

2022 AIA CA DESIGN AWARDS

Merit Award

Three Gables

Architect: Aidlin Darling Design

Project Location: Napa, California

Photographer: Matthew Millman

Perched on ten acres in the hills overlooking Napa Valley, this rural homestead was designed for a family of three seeking a more peaceful life away from the city. After a wildfire decimated the site, the clients were determined to build a modern, resilient home. The home is defined by a triad of gable roof structures, embracing both the area’s agrarian vernacular and the father’s European roots.

“The form, details and materials are considered, meticulously detailed and very well executed.” – 2022 Design Awards Jury

Design for Integration

Due to the home’s Napa Valley location, potential fire mitigation is an intrinsic aspect of the design that informed everything from material selection to form. The exterior palette is primarily composed of concrete and steel, which are inherently fire-resistant materials. Finely crafted, board-formed concrete make up the stout base and the majority of the walls, also creating robust stiffness for the home’s seismic integrity. The standing seam metal, gabled roofs shed rainwater and deflect potential sparks blown in from distant fires.

Design for Equitable Communities

Design for Ecosystems

The Atlas fire in late 2017 ravaged the property along with hundreds of oak trees. This altered the approach to the landscaping, and led to the implementation of substantial fire mitigation and prevention strategies. Brush and trees have been thinned/ cleared, and native drought-tolerant plants utilized in restoring the property after the fire.

Design for Water

The design incorporates high efficiency plumbing fixtures throughout the home. All plantings are drought tolerant.

Design for Economy

This house for two adults and one child sought to provide shared living space, bedrooms, as well as work/ play spaces for each occupant. By creating separate home offices for both adults, the design allows them to work from home. From the outset, the design intent aligned with the owner’s preferences to focus on the quality of spaces and materials, rather than on maximizing the square footage.

Design for Energy

Operable fenestration allows the site winds from the east to passively cool the home. Zoned and localized radiant heating and cooling systems, along with high performance, thermally-broken windows and doors further enhance energy savings. The design gesture of the deep gabled roof that extends over the south-facing glazing and deck provides passive solar control and protects occupants from the summer sun. A retractable exterior awning on the west, along with operable exterior west-facing shades, serve to keep west-facing glass out of the sun.

Design for Well-being

The home’s rural hillside location presented an ideal opportunity to design a biophilic home that facilitates an indoor-outdoor lifestyle. The project’s terraced landscapes and shade canopy structures respond to the steeply sloping terrain, while protecting occupants from the harsh elements of the surrounding environment. The home’s massing creates a range of shaded spaces that allow occupants to gather and connect with nature throughout the day. Terraces offer moments to pause and appreciate panoramic views of Napa Valley to the west. Large sliding glass doors and numerous operable windows were designed to capture site breezes, and provide natural cross-ventilation.

Design for Resources

Whenever possible materials were used that would be low maintenance and would not require re-painting or re-finishing, reducing the use of chemicals and thereby benefitting both the environment and the occupants. Where feasible, engineered wood structural elements were used in lieu of steel, to reduce the embodied carbon.

Design for Change

The building was designed not only with material resiliency in mind, with low to no-maintenance materials used at the exteriors, but also with seismic resiliency in mind. The main anchoring walls of board-formed concrete create robust stiffness for the seismic integrity of the residence. The landscaping strategy uses native and drought tolerant trees and plantings, ensuring that the root systems stabilizing the hillside remain healthy and intact even through times of drought. In the event of a natural disaster that leaves the area without power and resources, the home was designed with ample operable window and door fenestration, allowing the user to keep the home’s temperature modulated through passive means.

Fire mitigation is a central, intrinsic aspect of this home’s design that informed everything from material selection to form. It was a critical consideration due to the fact that the the same site was destroyed by a wildfire. The Napa Valley location means wildfires are a continued risk. The exterior palette is primarily composed of concrete and steel, both of which are inherently fire-resistant materials. Finely crafted, board-formed concrete makes up the building’s stout base and the majority of its walls. The standing seam metal, gabled roofs shed rainwater and deflect potential sparks blown in from distant fires.

The home includes a guest suite for the owner’s aging father, to allow three generations to cohabitate. Due to the 2017 fire, the owner has transformed the landscape to mitigate wildfire risk for the house and the neighboring properties. Additionally, the owner has started a side business with a partner, to help assess wildfire risks on private properties, and using environmentally-sensitive means of air-burning cleared trees and debris—this method is up to 90% cleaner that open burning, with opacities well under 10% (using EPA Method 9 Testing). This method has a significantly lower carbon footprint than off-hauling, or open burning.

Per previous responses, this pre-pandemic design constituted a significant change for the owners, in terms of shifting to a work-from-home lifestyle, with separate dedicated home offices. This proved to be beneficial during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Design for Discovery

Based on the client’s desire to work from home (pre-pandemic), to minimize vehicular travel and spend more time with their son, the design evolved during construction to change a gabled storage space above the garage into a home office and gym for the father. The 2017 fire mentioned above radically altered the approach to the landscape, both in terms of hundreds of shade-providing trees lost, and a strategy of moving forward with fewer trees to mitigate wildfire risk. Decks were changed from wood to non-flammable aluminum grating, and additional non-combustible shade structures were developed in lieu of new trees for shade in fire-prone areas.

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UC Riverside Plant Research 1 – Merit

October 5, 2022| 2022 Design Award Recipient, 2022 Merit Award, Specialist|

2022 AIA CA DESIGN AWARDS

Merit award

UC Riverside Plant Research 1

Architect: Perkins&Will

Project Location: Riverside, California

Photographer: Paul Vu

The University of California, Riverside, is a campus deeply linked with the agricultural and natural sciences. This heritage is academically and physically represented with a district of greenhouses on the main campus, just blocks from the central University mall. Plant Research 1 continues this campus tradition with a new greenhouse and research building. The design is driven by the planning and organizational module of the greenhouses, inspired by the pragmatism of the historical greenhouses.

“The building concept and form are strong and the limited materials palette reinforces the concept – a very considerate and innovative solution for a highly energy-intensive building.” – 2022 Design Awards Jury

Design for Integration

Located at a significant crossroads on the campus, the facility represents the importance of plant research to the culture and character of The University of California, Riverside by placing a utilitarian research facility in a visible and approachable location. The result is a design that puts science on display—placing the glass greenhouses above a concrete base so that students, faculty, and researchers can see and experience the research happening on campus.

Design for Equitable Communities

The work of research is many times opaque, even on university campuses many times the public and even students do not have a connection to the work being done sometimes down the hall or next door. This project invites a connection to its campus and community by placing the research on display. The terraced site to the south gives clear views into the greenhouses letting the public glimpse the important work being done inside. This coupled with a roof terrace and connecting lobby gives the campus the possibility to invite the public inside the project to see science happening. These aspects of the project turn research and science outward.

Design for Ecosystems

The landscape of the project is designed as an ecotone between the natural arroyo and the campus landscape—through the use of native plants we create a seamless transition that blends both environments. A trailhead at the edge of the site and outdoor decks gives users and the campus easy access to the natural context and educational opportunities for researchers and students.

Design for Water

Stormwater management and conservation drove the landscape design, as building water cannot be recycled due to being primarily research wastewater. Rainwater is brought down from the greenhouse roofs to the landscaping and permeable fire lane that slows and treats the water before it leaves the site. Low water-use plants adapted to desert landscapes help preserve precious water resources and serve to demonstrate the beauty of arid landscapes.

Design for Economy

Three main factors address affordability. First, the strict module of the building creates repetition in all building components that reduces complexity for a systems-heavy, greenhouse research building. Second, the project uses a strict and efficient planning strategy to maximize research space and minimize circulation, optimizing the cost per usable square foot. Third, the public spaces that are part of the project are multi-functional and usable for both researchers and the campus.

Design for Energy

With the greenhouses’ purpose to let in the sunlight, the challenge of the project was keeping that heat from the mechanical cooled spaces. The concrete structure—needed for the greenhouses above—is used as a thermal mass to keep the project cool, removing any need for insulation throughout the majority of the project.

Design for Well-being

The project promotes a connection to campus and nature by placing the main and service entries at the east, campus side; through opposing rooftop terraces facing campus and nature, and the connection to a local trail.

Design for Resources

The scientific requirements of the project demanded a concrete structure for vibration, structural loading, and waterproofing requirements (greenhouses are internally wet buildings)—so the design was primarily focused on efficiency and dual-uses of building elements. The defining aspect of this strategy is the use of the concrete system as structure, thermal mass, and facade. This allowed the project to remove almost all interior and exterior finishes—the ground floor concrete is exposed inside and out removing any additional insulation, waterproofing, metal framing, and drywall. The concrete also creates a lasting structure in its dual climate of semi-arid desert and variable greenhouse environments.

Design for Change

The thermal mass system of the project is designed specifically for the diurnal temperature cycle of the semi-arid climate—while the temperatures will become more extreme the daily cycle will still work to keep the thermal mass charged with the cool, night air. These extreme and rising average temperatures are the largest concern to this specific site and program.

Design for Discovery

This project is a prototype for future greenhouse projects at the University, creating a model for planning and constructing future greenhouses. The planning module of the project was designed specifically to be able to be applied to different sites by adding or removing modules as needed. This system will be replicated with user input, constructability lessons, and new site constraints to build the next greenhouses on the campus.

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Clifford L. Allenby Building – Special Commendation

October 5, 2022| 2022 Design Award Recipient, 2022 Special Commendation, Specialist|

2022 AIA CA DESIGN AWARDS

Special Commendation: Design for Integration

Clifford L. Allenby Building

Architect: ZGF Architects, Lionakis, Rudolph & Sletten

Project Location: Sacramento, California

Photographer: Connie Zhou

As the new home of the California State Department of Health and Human Services, the Clifford L. Allenby Building reimagines the government office as a modern hybrid workplace. The design emphasizes health and wellness and sets new benchmarks for energy and water conservation. Interrelated sustainability and workplace strategies exceed the State’s ambitious energy and water targets, achieve zero-net energy, carbon neutrality, LEED® Platinum and Fitwel certifications, and a U.S. Resiliency Council Platinum Rating.

“Innovative from start to finish. Combined a strong emphasis on user’s health and will being with a well implemented water conservation strategy and local/sustainable material utilization.” – 2022 Design Awards Jury

Design for Integration

Designed to serve its users just as its users serve the State, the Clifford L. Allenby Building reflects the enduring values and principles of democracy. Its form exercises restraint, simplicity, and classical proportions, yet the innerworkings of the building are intelligent and forward thinking. The project exemplifies design excellence not only for its form, function, and performance, but because the owner and users were all engaged in the process from start to finish.

Design for Equitable Communities

An important factor for the state was integrating the project with the urban fabric of Sacramento. There was previously a four-story derelict building on the site and O Street was closed off to the neighborhood. The project team met with the Vice Mayor and other city officials, who have a larger plan in place to convert one-way streets into two-way streets. The team was able to convert O Street into a one-way that can eventually become a two-way as the City has planned. Adding in the public pedestrian plaza and ground floor marketplace, the new Clifford L. Allenby Building invites the community to the building and creates an indoor-outdoor relationship with the building and the landscape. The site is now highly engaging and pedestrian friendly, with new crosswalks and other integrated solutions such as lighting, benches, and two exterior public art pieces.

Design for Ecosystems

From the sunshades at the building envelope to the greywater system in the basement, every aspect of the building is designed to have a positive impact on people and the planet. The site design enhances neighborhood walkability with the exterior public plaza, midblock pedestrian alley, and integrated landscaping, benches, lighting, and crosswalks. Light colored pavement helps reduce the urban heat island effect, along with native tree plantings to provide shade. Inside the building, interior finishes draw inspiration from the project’s surroundings in Sacramento, known as the “City of Trees,” helping connect users to the place and regional ecosystem. Various wood species–including FSC-certified Ash, Walnut, and Oak–celebrate California’s diverse forests, while bronze and gold details make subtle references to Sacramento’s part in the Gold Rush. Themed environmental graphics on each floor reflect the diversity and culture of California, including the strong influence of agriculture and industry in Sacramento.

Design for Water

Efficient fixtures and non-potable water use save more than 600,000 gallons in annual potable water—a 60% savings compared to the LEEDv4 baseline. The non-potable water reclamation system collects from rainwater, greywater, and air handler condensate—three distributed sources with varying quantities throughout the year—which is stored in a 20,000-gallon tank and directed to low-flow plumbing fixtures. In the pedestrian alleyway, planters filter stormwater and provide code mandated retention.

Design for Economy

Delivering the project from design to occupancy in under 3.5 years is a testament to the stewardship of state funds. Despite numerous challenges such as the COVID pandemic and diminished workforce, the project was completed on schedule, as planned, and below budget, which can largely be credited to the project team’s efforts to adapt in the face of adversity. High-performance building systems will provide long-term ROI in operational cost savings, while the flexible workplace design will serve any number of tenant departments in the building’s 150-year lifespan.

Design for Energy

Many interrelated and high-performance strategies led the project to achieve an EUI of less than 25 kBtu/sf/yr—which is 5 EUI points better than the owner’s criteria and places it in the top 1% of all U.S. office buildings. The design incorporates high-performance envelopes, extensive daylighting, underfloor air distribution (UFAD), heat pump (electric) heating source, and radiant heating/cooling distribution. 100% renewable energy is provided by offsite PV arrays contracted through the Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s (SMUD) SolarShares program, making the project net-zero energy. Actual electricity, water, gas and air use is being calibrated against the project energy model, displayed in real-time on monitors in the building lobby, and reported out monthly to the owner and operator to continue optimizing performance.

Design for Well-being

Designed to achieve Fitwel certification—a first for a California state-owned building—the Clifford L. Allenby Building boasts a number of strategies to promote a happy and healthy work environment. The design emphasizes natural light, indoor-outdoor connections to nature, healthy food services, a variety of amenity spaces for gathering and collaborating, high indoor air quality, and red list-free interior materials. Interior materials and furniture were selected to reduce impact to indoor air quality (paint and furniture will not off-gas). Carpets consist of 45% recycled materials and meet rigorous sustainability and health requirements. Typical office floors include a mix of open plan workstations and inboard private offices to maximize daylight and views for all users. Two outdoor terraces provide easy access to fresh air (and lunch with a view). The interiors are designed to enhance human performance through environmental comfort, ergonomics, and biophilia. The use of natural materials, scales, colors, and dynamic patterns appeals to the human need for variety and rhythm in our environment, enhancing the sense of wellness in the workplace. Irresistable stairs, a fitness center, and yoga studio encourage physical activity onsite, along with ample bicycle parking and showers for commuters. The building is in close proximity to nearby amenities, green spaces, transit, and bike paths, providing choice in how users work, relax, and get around.

Design for Resources

Over 30 million pounds of concrete and 780,000 pounds of steel were recycled from the site’s demolition materials. New building materials were regionally sourced whenever possible, including the concrete. Structure and envelope were designed to reduce the carbon emissions associated with their manufacture and life cycle; this was studied, optimized, and documented in Tally, showing a 15% reduction in GWP in the LEED MRc1 credit (building embodied carbon and baseline above are both from the that study). Use of fly ash and slag, Supplemental Cementitious Materials, resulted in a 26% reduction in the carbon intensive cement used in the project. Additionally, 98.7% of the project’s total waste was diverted from landfills.

Design for Change

The project addresses future risks and vulnerabilities through resiliency strategies that resulted in a U.S. Resiliency Council (USRC) Platinum Rating—another “first” for a California state-owned building. The USRC rating considers the performance of a building’s structure, MEP systems, and architectural components such as cladding, windows, partitions and ceilings, in the event of an earthquake or other disaster. The rating system assigns one to five stars along the dimensions of Safety, Damage (expressed as repair cost), and Recovery (expressed as time to regain basic function). The Platinum Rating represents the highest level of building performance and is intended to exceed modern codes. Platinum-rated buildings are expected to suffer negligible damage, less than 5% of replacement cost, and allow functional recovery within a few days of a major seismic event. The USRC Platinum rating is sought by owners who demand the highest level of asset protection and virtually uninterrupted functionality of their operations, which reflects the state’s and project team’s commitment to safety and resiliency.

The office space is designed for adaptability to anticipate future changes in hybrid work as well as health and human safety concerns. The open-plan office design and flexible use of meeting and collaboration spaces allowed the state to pivot during COVID. Standard workspace for state workers is a 7’x6’ workstation, compared to 5’ workstation for typical tech tenants, so the design already meets COVID standards. According to the owner, “One small adaptation we have made is not having workstations facing each other, but that speaks to the wonderful flexibility of the design that we can pivot that easily. We have been lucky in that the building was designed to meet the heightened expectations of COVID. We already had many components built into the design, whether it was a high-quality air filtration system or touchless fixtures. Currently as designed, this building stands much better than our existing state buildings in the ability to adapt to COVID. Teleworking was also built into the IT design. We didn’t know COVID was going to hit, but because the whole building was designed to be so seamlessly integrated, we will greatly benefit in being able to accommodate future needs for flexibility.”

The design team selected raised access flooring to provide a low-pressure under floor air distribution (UFAD) system that meets the project’s stringent indoor air quality and energy efficiency goals. High indoor air quality is supplied by sophisticated filtration, informed by air quality sensors placed throughout the building, that supplies fresh 100% outdoor air to all indoor spaces. Underfloor air diffusers adjust the air supply throughout the building, introducing fresh air at floor level while exhausting warm air at the ceiling, therefore reducing the mix of old air with new and making for a healthier environment.

Design for Discovery

The project team engaged at length with the users during programming, design, and change management work sessions. The outcome of this engagement led to design changes that were in response to the changing nature of office work, including the use of communal spaces, changes in commute patterns, and health and human safety concerns. While the building was always designed to be telework-enabled, further design changes were made in collaboration with the tenants to accommodate unplanned growth and consolidate additional staff due to the departments’ adoption of hybrid telework during the COVID pandemic. Because the building was already designed to maximize occupant health and wellness, it was “pandemic ready” from a safety and resiliency standpoint, which was a significant benefit for the owner. The project team plans to conduct a post occupancy evaluation in the future, given the building is still only partially occupied.

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Geneva Car Barn & Powerhouse – Special Commendation

October 5, 2022| 2022 Design Award Recipient, 2022 Special Commendation, Specialist|

2022 AIA CA DESIGN AWARDS

Special Commendation: Design for Resources

Geneva Car Barn & Powerhouse

Architect: Aidlin Darling Design

Project Location: San Francisco, California

Photographer: Matthew Millman

Built in 1901 as the home of San Francisco’s first electric railway, the Geneva Car Barn & Powerhouse is one of the last physical reminders of the system. The adaptive reuse of the building transforms a dilapidated historic landmark into a cultural hub. Throughout the space, the interplay of new and old enlivens the reading of each, creating a revitalized historic building that serves the community once more while honoring its past.

“A modern, clean design married with the ”grit” of the existing building.” – 2022 Design Awards Jury

Design for Integration

The project is a champion of inclusive design and promotes equitable communities. It is considered a critical element to revitalizing the surrounding Balboa Park neighborhood, a historically underserved community. The reinvigorated landmark has been transformed into a community events center and performance space that also provides much needed children’s art education to the neighborhood. Programming is run by Performing Arts Workshop, a non-profit dedicated to advancing equity in arts education with a focus on underserved
communities.

Design for Equitable Communities

The building is located across the street from the Balboa BART station, one of the most heavily trafficked stations in the BART system. Moreover, the MUNI tracks run around the project site, with a number of rail lines serving the site. As such, the building is accessible by public transportation from almost every corner of San Francisco and the Bay Area. It is also situated near many public schools as well as City College San Francisco, which will increase access to young people interested in participating in the classes as well as other community programming. Additionally, the rehabilitated building is fully ADA compliant with universal access within and around the building. Highly visible improvements have been made to the entrance and streetscape.

Design for Ecosystems

A previously barren landscape of concrete sidewalks and asphalt surrounded the site. As part of the adaptive reuse, the team added significant landscaping in front of the Powerhouse, with additional landscaping planned for Phase 2. Landscape featuring native plantings helps revitalize the surrounding streetscape.

Design for Water

The building employs strategies that result in a minimum 30% water than the baseline calculated for the building. Plumbing fixtures were selected based on their ability minimize potable water usage, and ultra-low flow toilets, urinals and lavatory faucets were also specified. Native landscaping has irrigation to aid in the stabilization and growth of the planting with the expectation that it will not be needed in future years.

Design for Economy

The decision to adapt a derelict building in the heart of San Francisco into a community center was the first and largest way in which this project was “right sized.” The tall one and a half story space with its vaulted roof and natural light was a perfect fit for the community’s need for a community event space. Moreover, adding a green room within the space, while maintaining the historic surrounding fabric, creatively allowed needed isolated program within the building footprint. Efficiency of materials was also a strong consideration for this project, exposing structural materials such as the concrete shear walls and floor as finished surfaces. Existing surfaces were exposed to the greatest degree possible, with the intent of expressing the value of the historic surfaces.

Design for Energy

The historic building envelope itself is inherently energy inefficient, with the concrete and brick walls lacking insulation and single pane windows required to be maintained to meet historic standards. Regardless, all new insertions were designed to support energy efficiency, from the new well insulated roof to the addition of interior glazing behind the historic windows to reduce air infiltration. The new radiant floor system provides the main heating source at the floor level, effectively and efficiently warming the occupants.

Design for Well-being

Set on a busy site within the City, surrounded by railway tracks and MUNI trains entering and existing the yard, the project sought to create a community refuge in the heart of activity. A great deal of attention was paid to noise and retaining quiet for the events and activities within the space. A radiant flooring system provides the building with efficient, comfortable heating and cooling without creating distracting noise and vibration. Secondary windows were layered within the existing to protect against the ambient street and railway noises. The landscape was developed to provide green as the view from within the space, hiding the view of the street beyond. All allow the user to experience the space without distraction.

Design for Resources

The project aimed to retain as much of the original fabric as possible while meeting current seismic codes. To do so, an intensive study was undertaken to determine the best structural support for the building. In order to retain the existing brick walls, new concrete shear walls were layered over selected walls to provide the needed strength.

The design preserves and highlights as many of the historic details as possible, while simultaneously incorporating strategies that reduced or eliminated the consumption of new material. Existing brick and concrete finishes were carefully preserved. A structural metal deck incorporates sound insulation to provide acoustic attenuation and reduce the need for additional acoustic materials. A structural concrete slab doubles as the finished floor. Structural glazed floors enclose the existing floor openings where turbine engines once generated power for streetcars, creating vitrines where artifacts will be displayed.

Design for Change

The building incurred severe damages from two major earthquakes in 1906 and 1989 respectively. In the 29 years between the mothballing of the building in 1989 and the start of construction in 2018, water damage and time further deteriorated the already aging and earthquake affected structure. The concrete ceiling of the Powerhouse was crumbling such that the sky was visible from the interior, grass was growing in the turbine pits and every interior and exterior surface was in need of repair. Now deemed earthquake safe, a full seismic upgrade and a new roof drastically mitigate the potential effects of future earthquakes and other damage. As Phase 1 of a larger renovation project of the Car Barn portion of the building, there were many infrastructural elements integrated into the space that will be removed once Phase 2 is implemented. The project was designed for that transition to occur and for the remaining space to be reclaimed for the assembly use.

Design for Discovery

This project was completed in the Spring of 2020 in the heart of the COVID shutdown in San Francisco. The space has been slowly been occupied by the tenant, the Performing Arts Workshop, although not to the extent that it will be in the coming months. Once the space is fully being used, the design team will be performing surveys for both satisfaction and energy use.

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