At its monthly meeting on July 18, the College of Marin (COM) Board of Trustees unanimously awarded the partnership of Blach Construction Company (Blach) and ELS Architecture and Urban Design (ELS) with a $24.1 million design-build project at its Indian Valley Campus. The new, long-awaited Miwok Center will support wellness, kinesiology, aquatics, and athletics programs for students and the surrounding community. Funding for the project is made possible by the voter-approved Marin Community College District Bond Measure B.

The new Miwok Center will establish a vibrant hub for COM’s 333-acre Indian Valley Campus. Enhancing the campus and generating greater awareness for the College as a whole, it will attract students interested in pursuing courses in physical education, wellness, and kinesiology. Additionally, it will benefit the public at-large by offering much sought-after access to a comprehensive health and wellness facility.

“We are constantly learning about new research on well-being which causes us to rethink how we can incorporate opportunities for our students, faculty, staff, and the community to instill healthy habits,” said Dr. David Wain Coon, COM superintendent/president. “I envision this as a center where both mind and body can be developed.”

Complete with an Olympic-sized swimming pool and a lap pool, the new Miwok Center will complement its idyllic setting on the Indian Valley Campus. The state-of-the-art building will house a full gymnasium and a fitness center with areas for cardio equipment, weights, and group fitness. Locker rooms, classrooms, offices, a lobby, and space for storage will surround the gymnasium and fitness center. The adjacent, outdoor pools will be used for COM and community aquatics classes, teams, meets, and camps, as well as for recreational purposes.

Award-winning Blach Construction, along with renown, long-time partner ELS Architecture and Urban Design, will erect the new Miwok Center. Using Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, it has the potential to earn zero net energy (ZNE) consumption, where the total amount of energy used by the building on an annual basis is roughly equal to the amount of renewable energy created on the site.

“It was a highly competitive selection process, but in the end, Blach + ELS’ innovative proposal fully supports our overall vision of the project,” said Greg Nelson, vice president of finance and college operations. “From the beautiful architectural design to sustainability and total cost of ownership, it was obvious they were the right choice. Their attention to quality and collaborative, service-based approach—coupled with an unprecedented safety record—will undoubtedly result in a facility that is built well and serves College of Marin and the Indian Valley Campus community for years to come.”

Blach and ELS Architecture and Urban Design principals have a successful history of partnering on college and university sports, recreation, and aquatic projects. Their most current design-build construction contract includes the $77M Kinesiology and Wellness Aquatic Center at Cañada College.

“We are honored to have been selected by College of Marin to transform their Indian Valley Campus with a facility that ultimately enables them to enhance their overall offerings,” said Mike Blach, president and CEO of Blach Construction. “Equally as such, we’re excited to partner with ELS again and bring to life another groundbreaking, much-desired wellness and aquatic center that optimizes building performance for our health and our environment.”

The design of the new Miwok Center is currently under review. Groundbreaking is slated for summer 2018 and construction is anticipated to be complete by summer 2020.

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ELS Principal Geno Yun’s selections were recently featured in Contract Magazine, the leading publication for commercial interior design and architecture. Geno contributed three product selections to the “Designers Select: Retail” gallery. See his choices (9–12) here.

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On October 17, 2017, ULI SF’s Women’s Leadership Initiative  hosted a panel of leaders in the land use industry with the intention of connecting young women to potential internships in the commercial real estate, land use and development space to explore the vast selection of real estate careers.

Maureen Boyer, Associate Principal, and Kelly Elmore, Designer, represented ELS which was one of the dozen-plus participating firms at the event that will offer informational interviews for potential internships for the summer of 2018.

The event included participation from a number of professional women at all stages in their careers in Commercial Real Estate including Development, Construction, Design, Engineering & Financing and undergraduate women from many Bay Area colleges and universities.

Kelly said: “This event offered a great opportunity for the undergraduate women students to talk to mentors about what it’s like to work in the fields of architecture, development, engineering, etc. I noticed that a lot of young women are very passionate but unsure, like I was, about how to choose between their different interests. The mentors advised that one does not have to choose; it’s good to have a variety of interests and skills, as those can be applicable to different professions.”

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Dancing was my passion before I became involved with architecture. I learned how to dance in elementary school and continued to dance throughout high school. My driven nature and desire to compete led me to excel at dancing, to the point where I was competing nationally on a team with other  talented dancers.

But, by the time I was a senior in high school, I became career focused. Although pursuing a career in dance was a possibility, I decided to discontinue my strict dancing routine to build the portfolio required to get into a reputable architecture program. My decision to leave the world of competitive dancing was difficult. Though not a competitive dancer anymore, I continued to train heavily: cycling, lifting, plyometric training, running, yoga—you name it, I have probably tried it. At the University of Oregon, where I completed my undergraduate degree in architecture, fitness and exercise remained a part of my daily routine. Even today, as a prospective architect, I spend a lot of time training.

I am interested in contextual design, especially as it relates to optimizing recreational facilities. Understanding the user allows for efficient programming of spaces; efficiency is critical when designing recreational facilities. The design of recreational or training space should account for the way people move through space and use equipment. For instance, having a clear path from group exercise rooms to the restroom is important; if someone is taking a group class, they are not likely to use any other gym equipment that day. Therefore, they should not have to maneuver their way through equipment to use the restroom.

Properly designed facilities have effective lighting. Access to natural light makes a space more pleasurable, no matter the building type. But in a recreation center, designers should pay particular attention to balancing solar heat gain and glare against lighting requirements. Radiation and glare become an issue when a space is over glazed. Physical activity generates heat, and glare can be uncomfortable and dangerous to users. In one gym I visited, the glare was so severe that people were lifting weights with their eyes closed, which is extremely unsafe. While views to the outdoors are important and common in cardio areas, designers should also consider users’ ability to use the equipment and the facility comfortably. I have been in a recreation center with a beautiful curtain wall that provided a view of a four-lane highway. This did very little for users except create glare.

East Oakland Sports Center © David Wakely

There are many ways of controlling natural light. Internal shades, however, should be a designer’s last resort. The first and more efficient tool for controlling natural light is careful building orientation. The second tool should be smart programming to ensure the appropriate spaces have access to the appropriate amount of daylight and views. The third should be the use of overhangs, light shelves, and vertical fins. The fourth should be the use of high performance glass. Vertical fins on east and west faces can be very effective and beautiful when designed properly. The same goes for overhangs and light shelves. Indirect daylight can also enhance spaces. Of course this is all site-specific, and in some cases internal shades are necessary.

The University of Oregon’s recreation center was remodeled during my time there as an architecture student. The new facility has multiple cardio areas, which work well for adjacency reasons. One of the areas is near the weight room and the other is near the open circuit area; this makes the gym usable for different workout routines—since some people like to break up their lifting and cardio routines, while others like to do them in circuits. But what really distinguishes the facility is its spaciousness. In my experience, overcrowding at peak hours is one of the main reasons people cancel their gym memberships. High usage at popular times is unavoidable, but even at peak hours the recreation center never felt congested. High ceilings, wide passageways, and natural light make this possible.

University of Oregon Rec Center

Although the University of Oregon’s new facility is a true success, it could certainly be improved by applying some of the ideas I described. For instance, the facility has no water fountains near the locker rooms, and this creates inefficiency. Most people using the facility come from class and change in the locker room before starting their workout. Locating a water fountain near the locker rooms would streamline the users’ gym time, which would, in turn, improve mobility. The facility has water lines from the bathroom that could have been used to install a water fountain there; this should have been considered during the design process.

Recreational facilities should be responsive to people’s needs, and this requires targeting users. This is, of course, easier said than done: are users educated about fitness? Do they have children? Is the targeted consumer generally self-conscious and would want a more secluded area in which to work out? Will people be power-lifting or doing plyometric training? The University of Oregon’s recreation remodel was successful because the user group was specific and relatively homogeneous—young, active students. Clients should remember that, ultimately, people choose a recreation facility based on price and travel range. These demographic factors can be studied and therefore should be used in the design process.

Stonestown YMCA © Lawrence Anderson

When designing recreational facilities, designers also need to think through possible and likely workout sequences. Gyms are too often designed as big boxes filled with treadmills, dumbbells, and cable machines. Designers should understand how the gym equipment and space are used to improve the efficacy of the architecture.

As I see it, dance and design both require expression without words. In dance, the expression takes place through the movement of the body. In architecture, it comes out through drawings and renditions. To create good designs or perform a meaningful dance, there should be intention behind every move. And that is the idea I evoke in my designs.

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The post Designing Successful Recreational Facilities with the User Experience in Mind appeared first on ELS Architecture and Urban Design.

Ryan Call, Director of Urban Design, has authored “Creating Streets People Can Identify With,” which appears in ULI’s Urban Landmagazine’s Fall 2017 issue.

As more developers transition their retail districts from traditional shopping malls to a more authentic “Main Street” experience, Ryan argues that these developments must go beyond the superficial and offer a truly connected environment for the modern consumer.

Read the full text of Ryan’s article here.

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ELS is excited to be included among the 2017 Architect 50, ARCHITECT magazine’s listing of the top architecture firms in the United States for business.

We are honored to be among the list for a fifth consecutive year, and would like to thank our clients, colleagues, and staff for their support.

Link: 2017 Architect 50: Top 50 Firms in Business

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The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) has announced the winners of the 2017 U.S. Design and Development Awards Competition. ICSC has awarded the Theater at NewPark Mall a Gold Medal award in the Retail Design category.

A completely transformed and formerly vacant three-level department store is now home to a tenant-ready entertainment center at the NewPark Mall in Newark, California. A dramatically stepped public entry plaza with a soaring canopy occupies space that was previously taken up by a lowly truck loading zone. Additionally, the Rouse Company has introduced an open-air garden space with sculptural seating elements and a tranquil bamboo grove enjoyed by moviegoers and mall patrons alike.

Double-height glass now opens to the theater interior in an area that was formerly a blank expanse of plaster walls. The mute exterior bulk of the former department store is now an open and glowing beacon attracting and inviting visitors to the center, highly visible to the community and freeway traffic beyond. The soaring glass storefront with its glowing mural behind is now a welcoming element that gives identity and character to the surrounding area.

ELS would like to express our gratitude to the project team who were our partners for this unique and creative design solution.

Rouse Co: Owner
KPFF: Structural Engineer
Brio Engineering: Civil Engineer
CB Engineers: MEP Engineer
HLB: Lighting Design
Charles M. Salter Associates: Acoustics
Studio Outside: Landscape Architect
FTCH: Cinema Interior Designer
VCC: General Contractor

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ELS is pleased to announce that our project, Legends Aquatic Center at University of California, Berkeley, has received a 2017 AIA East Bay Design Award!

The home for UC Berkeley’s intercollegiate aquatic sports, Legends Aquatic Center is a state-of-the-art facility aimed at providing additional training space for intercollegiate athletes. Consisting of three single-level buildings surrounding a stretch 50M pool, the new training center features a two-centerline dive tower and adjacent springboards, a warm water spa for divers, locker rooms, and a multipurpose and special events room. The pool is exclusive for student-athlete use. The design establishes a connection with the athletic precinct and serves as a catalyst for energizing both the aquatics program and the southwest edge of campus. The project is in the process of getting a LEED Silver certification.

See a list of all the winners here.

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ELS Architecture and Urban Design has promoted Christopher Jung, Anthony Grand, and Kenneth Loretto to design directors, and William Gordon to director of interior architecture, announced Clarence Mamuyac, FAIA, president of the firm.

“We are pleased to recognize the tremendous contributions these four individuals have made to ELS,” says Mamuyac. “These promotions honor the exceptional design talents and leadership capabilities they have brought the firm over the past several decades.”

As design directors, Jung, Grand, and Loretto will be responsible for the quality of design of all the firm’s projects. As director of interior architecture, Gordon will be responsible for the quality of design of all of ELS’s interior environments. The four will lead the dialogue of design issues and practices within the firm, mentor junior staff, organize firm-wide design discussions, and make sure the firm stays informed about current and future innovations.

We thank and recognize these individuals for their commitment to thoughtful design, project leadership, and dedication to nurturing strong relationships.

Chris Jung

Christopher Jung, Associate AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Design Director

Christopher joined ELS in 1992. With a special focus on community, aquatics, sports and recreation projects, his design portfolio also features retail and entertainment, performing arts, and education facilities. His recent designs include the newly opened University of California, Berkeley Legends Aquatics Center which has been honored in the 2017 AIA East Bay Design Awards program; Cañada College Kinesiology, Wellness and Aquatics Center; and the new George F. Haines International Swim Center, International Swimming Hall of Fame, and Community Recreation Center in the city of Santa Clara. His design for the East Oakland Sports Center was recently honored for design excellence by AIA San Francisco, AIA East Bay, and Athletic Business. Christopher received a bachelor of arts in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley.

William Gordon

William Gordon, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Director of Interior Architecture

William Gordon joined ELS as a designer in 1998 and has worked on a wide variety of retail, mixed-use, entertainment, aquatics, recreational, and educational projects. His recent work includes the Hillsdale Shopping Center Customer Service and Conference Center in San Mateo, California, and the Downtown Berkeley YMCA Men’s Locker Room and Mind Body Center in Berkeley, California. He is currently working on the Elk Grove Aquatics Center in Elk Grove, California, and the University of California, Berkeley Recreational Sports Facility Gender Inclusive Locker Room in Berkeley. He received a bachelor of science in art and design from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master of architecture from the University of California, Berkeley.

Anthony Grand

Anthony Grand, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Design Director

Anthony joined ELS in 1988. He has had a primary design role on numerous civic, community, recreation, theater, education, mixed-use, and urban design projects. His experience and talent in conceptual design and presentation graphics are extensive and have been instrumental in financing, leasing, and securing approvals for many of ELS’s projects. An accomplished illustrator, Anthony has received seven awards of excellence from the American Society of Architectural Illustrators (ASAI), and his work has been exhibited in ASAI’s Architecture in Perspective juried exhibition of architectural illustrations. Anthony received a bachelor of architecture from the University of Texas at Austin.

Ken Loretto

Kenneth M. Loretto, AIA, LEED GA, Design Director

Ken joined ELS in 1999. He has had a primary design role on large retail and mixed-use projects including Stonestown Mall in San Francisco, California; Downtown Summerlin in Las Vegas, Nevada; NewPark Mall in Newark, California; and Hillsdale Shopping Center in San Mateo, California. His projects also include the Tucson Mall and Park Place renovations and expansions in Tucson, Arizona; NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles; and the Eastridge Center renovation in San Jose. Ken received a bachelor of fine arts from Brigham Young University and a master of architecture from California Polytechnic State University in Pomona.

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Cañada College Groundbreaking

Cañada College in Redwood City broke ground December 5, 2017, on its new kinesiology and wellness building and aquatics center, announced Clarence Mamuyac, FAIA, president and CEO of ELS Architecture and Urban Design of Berkeley, which has teamed with Blach Construction of San Jose in a design-build partnership to create the facility.

Prominently located at the campus’s main entrance and main quad, the project will replace an obsolete athletics building with an 85,000-square-foot facility that includes classrooms for wellness activities, a competition basketball gymnasium, locker and shower rooms, offices, and a fitness equipment area.

The aquatics center includes an instructional aquatics pool and a competition pool with bleachers and support facilities.

The building will serve as a student athletics training and coaching center, with memberships available to the public as well. Funding comes from the district’s Measure H bond, which local voters approved in November 2014. Construction is expected to be complete by early 2019. The project is targeting LEED Gold certification.

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