Judges: • C. Keith Boswell, AIA, director, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP • Wendell Clark, business development director, J.D. Diffenbaugh • Simin Naaseh, SE, president & CEO, Forell/ Elsesser Engineers Inc. • Lori Reed, director of marketing and communications, American Institute of Architects, California Council • Kirsten Ritchie, associate principal/director of sustainable design, Gensler • David Rova, director of design, HMC Architects • Greg Stedman, regional vice president, KHS&S Contractors • Gwen Stone-Garis, vice president, National Association of Women in Construction, San Gabriel Valley Chapter #110 • Peter Tuma, vice president of construction, Taisei Construction • Phil Varni, district manager,
The project team that built the Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics created a project that focuses on the stars not just within the classroom walls but with a design that leaves plenty of room for stargazing.
The Show is a more than a 2,000-seat theater built to serve as a showpiece of the Agua Caliente Casino. The $64-million, 91,000-sq-ft theater features multi-level seating, dressing rooms and management offices. A 10,000-sq-ft warehouse was built to support the hotel and casino operations. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The theater was designed to allow patrons to exit and enter the theater quickly. The circulation and way finding through four levels of seating is efficient, with exit times for a full event averaging around five minutes. The project team used a number of techniques to make the project succeed.
There’s no question that for the past year, the California Department of Transportation has played a major role in working to right the state’s construction employment downturn during the economic recession. Related Links: Best of California 2009 Caltrans’ positive relationship with contractors and its new stimulus leadership position has prompted the editorial staff of California Construction Magazine to name it the Owner of the Year 2009. When Randell Iwasaki took over as director of the department earlier this year, the beginnings of the Recovery Act funds were appearing nationally. Acting in consort with the governor’s office, California now leads the
This $105-million, phase one office tower project adds layers of mixed-use elements to the South San Francisco community, including an adjacent parking garage, 30,000 sq ft of office support and retail space, on-site child care facility and a performance and conference center as well as an off-site fire station and gymnasium. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The owner, architect and contractor worked previously together on a similar office tower project in San Francisco. This prior experience as a team provided an opportunity to draw on the insight gained from the past project to effectively and efficiently collaborate on the
The builders of the 46,000-sq-ft University of California, San Diego Conrad Prebys Music Center had a difficult challenge. How would they build a music center that would allow for concerts, but also minimize the noise in classrooms and offices throughout the building? Related Links: Best of California 2009 Constructed of architectural cast-in-place concrete and an exterior curtain wall system, the $46-million music center contains offices, classrooms, student recording suites, computer music labs, practice rooms, a flexible black box theatre, 150-seat lecture/recital hall, ensemble hall and a 400-seat concert hall. Because of the complexity of the project, the team decided early
The project team building the Fourth District Court of Appeal overcame a funding freeze from the state of California to build a well-regarded project in downtown Santa Ana. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The $25.6-million courthouse was built to unify two separate court buildings and provide additional court services within its three stories. The project team – Heery International and Carrier Johnson + CULTURE – used a number of devices to eliminate problems before they occurred. Chief among these was the use of BIM. All spaces above the ceilings were modeled three dimensionally for the coordination of all MEP
Trying to balance the needs of the environment with active pedestrians resulted in the David Kreitzer Lake Hodges Bicycle Pedestrian Bridge. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The stress ribbon bridge provides a link to the north side of Lake Hodges from the south side and serves pedestrians and bicyclists. One of the keys that shaped the project was the need to limit the bridge’s impact on the lake. The project team used the stress ribbon design method to limit the number of supports in the lake to two. The use of precast panels eliminated the need for falsework within
The goals of this $56-million project in the heart of San Rafael were to elevate and widen the northbound and southbound Highway 101 lanes for the addition of HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lanes and to construct a new southbound 101/eastbound Interstate 580 connector. Related Links: Best of California 2009 One of the more innovative aspects of the project’s design was the use of both lightweight aggregates and EPS block (expanded polystyrene). The project is located immediately adjacent to the San Francisco Bay, so much of the native material underneath the site is what is referred to as “bay mud.” This
This $9.2 million seismic retrofit and complete interior renovation of a historic building on Pacific Ave. became the four-story headquarters of the San Francisco law firm Keesal, Young & Logan. It includes office space, a private bar and dining room, fitness room, shower, kitchen and several conference/meeting spaces. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The project team says that meeting the client’s specific move-in date was one of the most critical goals for the project. The team implemented weekly meetings with the owner and architect, as well as weekly schedule updates. The thoughtful restoration and renovation of a historic building