The Historic Preservation and Innovation in Rehabilitation is a new category introduced at the 2010 AIA San Francisco Design Awards with Los Angeles-based Nadel Architects becoming the first recipient of the award.
Nadel Architects, through the Richmond Civic Center revitalization project, restored the central business district by bringing critical city administrative functions back to downtown Richmond and introducing sustainable components to the center.
The $91 million, multiple-phase revitalization scheme has preserved and retained the historical master plan drafted by architects Richard Neutra and R.M. Schindler in 1949, and later designed and completed by famous civic architect, Timothy L. Pflueger.
The Civic Auditorium, 440 Civic Center Plaza and City Hall have been restored, and the latter two buildings have also achieved LEED-Gold certification. The Civic Auditorium is on track to achieve LEED-Gold certification.
Sustainable improvements include seismic upgrades, bioswales, secured bicycle spaces, drought-resistant landscaping, heat island reduction, low-flow plumbing, energy-efficient high performance heating and cooling systems, photovoltaics, low-emitting materials and controlled lighting.
The remodeling and rebuilding process has made use of large portions of the existing walls, floors and ceilings of the original structure. Most of the new elements added to the campus such as a glass-roofed colonnade, are incorporated with the cubic, linear and transparent forms to complement the mid-century modernist architecture of the original design.
The 2010 AIA San Francisco Design Awards aims to recognize outstanding design contributions in the Bay Area. It was held at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center on May 6, 2010.
