Richmond Memorial Civic Center Rehabilitation Project

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1 Project Overview Summary: The Project restored what Architectural Forum magazine described as the first modern Civic Center built in any American city to its original glory. This 1940s Pflueger design has transitioned into the 21 st century in style. Description of the Project: This project included three major buildings; the 71,000 square foot City Hall, the 56,000 square foot former Hall of Justice building, and the 160,000 square foot Memorial Auditorium and Art Center complex, all arranged around the Civic Center Plaza. Since the original completion of the City Hall and former Hall of Justice in 1949, and the Auditorium in 1951, Richmond has enjoyed the Civic Center complex. Originally envisaged by the internationally recognized practice of Schindler and Neutra during the 1930 s, the facilities were brought to fruition in the 1940 s by Timothy L. Pflueger, San Francisco s most prominent civic architect, and completed by his brother Milton after Timothy s death. As the first modern Civic Center built in any American city, the architectural and historic significance of this post World War II modernist array of buildings, dedicated as a memorial to World War II, cannot be overstated. In 2002, City offices began vacating Civic Center due to a plethora of problems with the buildings, the most prevalent being the need for seismic upgrading and water-proofing the basements in City Hall and the former Hall of Justice. In June of 2006, the City of Richmond chose a development team to implement the project. With community input through a public design review process, the overriding goal was established to retain the look and feel of the original design, but create a fully modern and sustainable Civic Center. The result of these efforts is a set of truly world class facilities, all of which have a new lease on life. The iconic Pflueger design is fully respected, meeting the Secretary of the Interior s Standards, while bringing a twenty-first century presence to the Civic Center Historic District in the center of the City. The Plaza is now enhanced by a water feature, which was featured in Pflueger s original pencil drawing that was presented in 1945, but never built. All exterior architecture was painstakingly designed to respect the original design and preserve as much of the historic buildings as possible while creating a first class office environment. Replacement bricks were custom made to match originals. The accessible ramps were done with great respect to the original Plaza design. Near the two original Plaza flag poles, four monuments saved from the original plaza honor the memory of World War and those who sacrificed to achieve victory. New high-tech glazing systems were designed to be faithful to the look of the original system while minimizing solar gain. The interior of the office buildings required a complete renovation; however, the original center grand stairway of the City Hall building was preserved and restored to its original luster, with several new terrazzo panels fabricated to match original panels that had to be replaced. The original fluted interior concrete columns were left exposed as much as possible to show their elegance. The interiors were designed to hearken back to 1950 while using sustainable materials and modern technology, keying off the original anodized aluminum window frames and terrazzo on the grand stairway. Page 1

2 Project Page 2 of 2 Overview Summary and Description of the Project April 26, 2010 Setting the trend in the bay area for sustainable approaches to the development, the City chose to re-use their historic set of buildings, instead of demolishing them and building anew. Through a carefully orchestrated design process the development team was able to attain LEED Gold Certification for both 1949 vintage office buildings on the Plaza. The overall reduction of water usage and the control of runoff, state of the art heating ventilation and air conditioning, as well as solar panels and state of the art glazing systems, played key roles in achieving these goals. This effort continues through sustainable operation practices.

3 Aeroplane view conceptual design for the Civic Center by Timothy Pflueger, c

4 The Civic Center in 2007, prior to rehabilitation. At top right, view from Nevin Avenue into Plaza; at bottom right, view from Barrett Avenue to City Hall.

5 Above: The Civic Center Plaza on December 30, Below: The completed Civic Center Rehabilitation in 2009.

6 Clockwise from upper right: The Plaza prior to rehabilitation in 2007; the plaza during construction in early 2009; the completed plaza.

7 Above: City Hall c. 1953, with banner celebrating All America City. The ground floor is an open breezeway. Right: City Hall in The open breezeway has been converted to glass-enclosed office space.

8 Above: Original City Hall third floor plan. Below: City Hall third floor plan in 2009, following rehabilitation.

9 Clockwise from upper left: Original building section at City Hall with open central stair; the restored stair; terrazzo restoration and cleaning in progress.

10 The project included extensive brick restoration and seismic strengthening, seen here at the lobby of 440 Civic Center Plaza, the former Hall of Justice.

11 Clockwise from upper left: Restored Auditorium exterior; original lobby interior; restored lobby interior; the Auditorium under construction c

12 Pflueger s original concept for the plaza included a central fountain; his vision was realized in the rehabilitation with the addition of a central water feature.

13 Text Sustainability features helping City Hall earn LEED Gold certification included: rooftop photovoltaic panels, water-saving restroom fixtures, and recycled materials at the second floor one-stop customer service counter.

14 The restored Civic Center in 2009, at project completion, with Pflueger s original concept at inset.