US-based commercial construction company Balfour Beatty Construction along with American Architecture firm HMC Architects have worked on the renovation and expansion of the $103.8 million design-build project.
Originally constructed in three phases (1953, 1959 and 1971), this 362,500 square feet, two-phase design-build project has included construction of a 60,000 square feet “west addition” that houses book stacks and the installation of an automated library book retrieval system at ground level; construction of a 20,000 square feet “north addition”; renovation of the 282,500 square feet existing library and seismic reinforcement of the existing library for a total project size of 362,500 square feet.
The project adds 34% more space, 50% more seating, 50% more group study areas, 50% more collection capacity, both in open stacks and a high-density automated retrieval system, and 100% more computers, aiming at providing a flexible and congenial learning environment in the heart of campus.
The Sutro Library is incorporated into the fifth and sixth floors of the Leonard Library and contains an archive collection of rare books, original documents and artifacts donated by the former San Francisco mayor and mining magnate, Adolph Sutro.
The new library renovation and expansion project has addressed the need to accommodate a growing student population by restoring the structural inadequacies while concurrently updating the building’s electrical and telecommunication systems. The project was completed in March 2012, five months ahead of schedule.
The national design-build awards are presented to the highest-rated projects in each category and are the most prestigious project awards presented by DBIA. Earlier this year, the project received Project of the Year from DBIA-Western Pacific Region, which honors the top projects in California, Nevada, Hawaii and Arizona.
The awards ceremony will take place on November 8 at the 2012 Design-Build Conference & Expo in New Orleans, US.
