UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY...Sep 27, 2011 · UC Berkeley is working with Diller Scofidio +...

FACILITIES SERVICES BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 94720-1380

September 27, 2011

TO: City of Berkeley Planning and Landmarks Preservation Commissions

FR: Jennifer McDougall, Principal Planner, UC Berkeley

RE: New University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA)

Background: Among the largest university art museums in the United States in both size and patronage,

the number of visitors to BAM/PFA averages 52,000 per year, and another 48,000 attend showings at the

film archive (SMCP, January 2011). The existing BAM/PFA building, completed in 1970, was rated

seismically very poor in 1997; in 1999 the physical locations of the program were split and the film

component placed in a temporary building, addressing significant seismic risk at the theater. In 2001 a

partial retrofit of the existing building addressed a few of the major vulnerabilities; however, in order to

fully retrofit the existing building, the introduction of shear walls would reduce the functionality of exhibit

space.

In 2008, UC Berkeley presented a design for a new University of California Berkeley Art Museum and

Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) building in downtown Berkeley, to the community and City

commissions. The new building would have replaced the existing printing plant building at 2120 Oxford

Street, a City of Berkeley landmark, and the existing 250‐space parking structure on Addison Street.

Although that design was admired, in 2009, economic uncertainty stemming from the international

recession led the museum to explore design alternatives that included maintaining the existing printing

plant building if it could result in cost savings.

UC Berkeley is working with Diller Scofidio + Renfro as design architects, and with Executive Architect

EHDD, on the current project. Although the project is a reuse and not an historic renovation of the existing

printing plant building, Page & Turnbull Architects have assessed conditions of the historic fabric at 2120

Oxford, recommended rehabilitation treatments, and as preservation specialists are working with the team

to review design concepts.

Please see attached press release, and the Q&A including responses to many questions from the

Community Open house held September 14, 2011. Please also see attached Table of Significant Features,

explaining how important historic features are treated in the new design.

Project Overview: The current proposal is comprised of four architecturally distinct elements: the existing

production shed of the printing plant; the existing printing plant office block; a new element housing the

BAM/PFA cinema and other programs; and a new services (or “back of house”) element housing the

BAM/PFA loading facility and other support spaces.

The existing office and production building at 2120 Oxford is approximately 45,500 GSF. A significant

challenge is accommodating sufficient gallery space in the existing production shed envelope, while

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY

BERKELEY DAVIS IRVINE LOS ANGELES MERCED RIVERSIDE SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO SANTA BARBARA SANTA CRUZ

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY ART MUSEUM AND PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE

minimizing costly new construction. The current design proposal would augment the building space with

the construction of a new element of some 30,000 GSF, adjoining the office block and anchoring the

southwest corner of Addison and Oxford Streets. This new element would house the BAM/PFA cinema

and most of BAM/PFA’s research and teaching programs.

The parking structure would be removed, and the remainder of the site would be striped for parking. This

is expected to accommodate approximately 40 spaces.

CEQA Review: The proposed project is consistent with the UC Berkeley 2020 Long Range Development

Plan and the campus expects to complete an addendum to the 2020 LRDP EIR for the project.

Preliminary schedule: We anticipate construction to begin at the beginning of 2013; occupancy may occur

in late 2015.

Further questions: Please contact Jennifer with any questions or concerns at (510)642‐7720 or

[email protected].

Attachments:

Q&A

Press Release

Graphics

Table of Significant Elements and BAM/PFA

September 27, 2011

BAM/PFA BUILDING PROJECT

Questions and Answers

BUILDING

Where will the new BAM/PFA building be located?

The museum’s entrance will be on Center Street, with additional frontages

on Addison and Oxford streets. The new downtown site will anchor

Berkeley’s Arts District and link the west campus entrance and the active

downtown arts and commerce districts. Just a block from the Downtown

Berkeley BART station, BAM/PFA will count as its neighbors the Berkeley

Repertory Theater, Aurora Theater, Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse, and

the Bancroft Library’s Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life.

How will the new building relate to the former UCB printing plant?

The Streamline Moderne‐style former printing plant—unoccupied since

2004—will be repurposed to serve as gallery, education, and office space,

including some areas created by excavating a basement level. This

building will be integrated with an approximately new structure that will

include the PFA Theater, Library and Film Study Center, collection study

area, special‐event space, café, and back‐of‐house operations. The existing

printing plant building is approximately 45,000 gross square feet, and in

total the new BAM/PFA will be approximately 82,000 square feet.

The new building is smaller than the current one. How does this improve

BAM/PFA?

Despite its smaller size, the new building will be more efficient and will

provide more programmatic space than does the current building. The

galleries in the current facility are irregular in shape, and most have only

three walls, which limits the number of linear feet available for hanging

art. Further, the current building’s largest gallery, the 7,000‐square‐foot

Gallery B, is of limited use for exhibitions because of its extraordinarily

high ceiling, extensive windows, and irregular, concrete walls. The new

building, on the other hand, will include versatile gallery spaces that can

accommodate works of art in diverse media. So, while there will be fewer

square feet of gallery space, the new building will contain 30 percent more

linear feet for exhibition. The efficient design of the new building will also

University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive Q&A September 2011

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provide 100 percent more space dedicated to education and collections

access than the current building contains.

Where will the back‐of‐house functions be located?

Back‐of‐house functions will be located on‐site, in close proximity to the

galleries and study areas. Frequently exhibited and studied works will be

stored on‐site and works on paper will be accessible in an open storage

and study area. The majority of the collection in other media will be

housed in a university‐owned off‐site storage facility that is home to many

of the University of California, Berkeley’s scholarly collections.

Who is designing the new building?

The new building is designed by the New York City‐based firm Diller

Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R). Among DS+R’s recent architectural

achievements are Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art; the redesign of

Alice Tully Hall, a concert and film facility at Lincoln Center for the

Performing Arts, in New York City; a 95,000‐square‐foot expansion of The

Juilliard School, which is also part of DS+R’s ongoing work for Lincoln

Center; and the High Line, an urban park on a 1.5‐mile stretch of elevated

railway in New York’s Chelsea District.

What will the new BAM/PFA look like?

The new BAM/PFA will unite the former printing plant with a bold new

architectural form. The design preserves most of the historic features of

the former printing plant, including the distinctive façades on Center and

Oxford streets, the north‐facing skylights, and the elegant lobby. Through

excavation, the printing plant will be greatly expanded, creating an

additional floor of gallery and education spaces on a lower level. The

ground level galleries are designed so that they appear to float like trays

above this excavated space, with light extending from the skylights to the

lower level through strategically sited light wells and a double‐height

garden at the northwest corner of the building. The unique museum store

will occupy a narrow slice of the ground floor along the Center Street

façade.

The new structure introduces an innovative formal and material

vocabulary that echoes the streamlined curves of the Art Deco style, yet is

updated for the 21st century. It will encompass a café that cantilevers

above the museum’s Center Street entrance, offering views of the city and

campus, and a mezzanine walkway that provides entry to the PFA


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Theater. The external shape of the theater, which is also part of the new

structure, echoes its own internal volume, so that from outside it appears

as a rounded, almost vessel‐like form. The theater will appear to be

suspended above the library and study areas beneath it. The perimeter of

these areas comprises a glass curtain wall that creates a welcome

transparency between the museumʹs educational program and the civic

context.

Embodying a thoughtful and creative amalgam of past and present, the

new BAM/PFA will foreground the versatile, high‐quality presentation of

art and film, while offering numerous moments of architectural wonder

and surprise.

How sustainable will the new BAM/PFA construction be? Will it earn LEED

certification?

The campus’s goal for the new building is a minimum of LEED‐Silver

certification.

Who is the architect of record?

Architect of record for the new BAM/PFA is EHDD of San Francisco, a

nationally recognized architecture firm with a long track record with the

University of California, Berkeley, and with exceptional expertise in

educational facilities, buildings for science, museums, and zoos.

Why does BAM/PFA need a new building?

The impetus behind the creation of the new building is safety: A 1997

survey found that the museum’s existing facility—a 102,800‐square‐foot

reinforced concrete structure—does not meet current seismic standards. A

seismic bracing of the building completed in 2001 elevated it from a “very

poor” seismic standard to “poor.” This upgrade has enabled BAM/PFA to

remain open while it plans and constructs a new facility. The campus has

committed to elevating all campus buildings to at least “good” seismic

standards.

Will the new building enable BAM/PFA to expand or improve its programming?

The new building will greatly enhance and expand the museum’s

programmatic capacities. For the first time in its history BAM/PFA will be

able to screen films and videos in a purpose‐built theater, designed

specifically for the optimal experience of these media (the former theater


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building was designed as a flat floor multipurpose performance gallery;

the temporary location was designed as flexible lecture space). There will

be 30 percent more linear feet of exhibition area, in a range of gallery types

designed for the diverse needs of both contemporary and historical works

of art in a variety of media. The new facility will also include a multi‐

purpose gallery intended for displays of both 2‐D and 3‐D works of art, as

well as for performance in various modes, and a new 30‐seat multi‐

purpose screening room that will make possible a variety of screenings

and education programs. The museum will additionally have double the

amount of space for education and collections access, enabling it to

expand its programs to serve the larger and more diverse audiences

anticipated at the new downtown location.

Can’t the Ciampi‐designed building be permanently seismically braced?

Bracing the building for the long term would require the construction of

interior shear walls, which are composed of braced panels. These would

eliminate the open gallery space that the museum requires for its

exhibition program. Thus, the building can be permanently braced, but

only for another purpose.

Will the museum close during construction of the new building? If so, at what

points, and for how much time?

The new building will be constructed on a new site, enabling BAM/PFA to

continue programming at the current locations until it is determined that

the staff must focus exclusively on preparing to open the new facility. The

museum expects any closure period to be relatively brief.

What will happen to the current Mario Ciampi‐designed art museum on

Bancroft Way?

The campus will determine the future use of the Ciampi building, which

will likely provide academic and support space for campus units with

space deficits. Reassignment of the building for these uses could become

an impetus for the campus to install interior shear walls that would

drastically improve the seismic safety of the building. However, such

renovations would be incompatible with the open gallery space that is

vital for the museum’s exhibition program.


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Will the PFA Theater be part of the new building?

Yes. One of the many benefits of the new facility is that the PFA Theater

will once again be an integral part of the museum, alongside its galleries,

education spaces, and administrative offices. Patrons will experience

BAM/PFA’s film program in a structure designed specifically for film

presentations. Both the current PFA Theater space at 2575 Bancroft Way

and the previous film theater, housed downstairs in the current building,

are classroom/lecture spaces that were modified for presenting film in a

theater setting.

When will construction begin, and when will the new BAM/PFA building open?

The museum anticipates that it will begin construction in 2013. The new

museum complex is targeted for completion by late 2015.

Will there be parking at the new BAM/PFA?

The new location is well served by public transit and has several public

parking garages within close walking distances. The campus also allows

parking in its lots on most weekends and evenings, which tends to be

when attendance to the museum and PFA Theater is highest. Also, film

programs are only presented during the weekday evenings and on the

weekends, when those campus lots are available to the general public.

FUNDING

How will the new BAM/PFA building be funded?

The budget for the new downtown museum project is $100 million, all of

which will come from private, non‐state sources. To date, $65 million has

been committed, and BAM/PFA is working in partnership with the

University to raise the remainder.

OTHER COMMUNITY CONCERNS

How will the historic printing of the UN Charter at the printing plant be

commemorated?

Although the exact location is not yet determined, the commemorative

plaque will be reused in the building.


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The project would remove a 250‐car parking structure. The project also would

remove some street parking to accommodate wider sidewalks: ten spaces at

Oxford and perhaps additional spaces at Center Street and Addison. What will

be done to address loss of parking downtown?

Visitors to the existing museum customarily arrive by alternative means;

the existing museum does not provide parking, and the new museum

would be better located to facilitate arrival by alternative modes.

The project would maintain approximately 40 parking spaces at Addison

Street; these would be below grade close to the current elevation of the

basement level of the existing parking structure. UC Berkeley is exploring

possibly renting space in local garages, and development of parking

spaces at Shattuck between Berkeley Way and Hearst Avenue, to address

some of the day time commuter parking demand dislocated by the loss of

the parking structure.

How does the project support community aspirations for Center Street? Could

the café be on the street?

The project does not preclude any future for Center Street. There is no

loading or service vehicle access planned along the Center Street façade of

the proposed museum. The narrow bookstore offers an active, windowed

storefront use for Center Street. Areas of the museum that can be accessed

without a ticket will include the bookstore, the lobby, the café, and the

Matrix gallery as well as library and learning spaces; all ticketed and

unticketed spaces will be accessed from the Center Street entrance,

maintaining lively pedestrian activity for a potential future plaza.

Neither the initial Downtown Area Plan nor the UC Berkeley Long Range

Development Plan anticipated reuse of the existing landmarked printing

plant building; reuse of the existing building form places pressures on

program spaces. The café space is pushed to the second level as a narrow

retail space fronts street‐level windows, and the essential building

function as exhibit space occupies entry level spaces as well.

Further, the design goal for the new element generally is to perform as a

connector – an interface between city and campus, arts district and

commercial center, art and film, old and new. The café cantilever is an

extension of this link, expressing activity on the interior and creating a

protected entry to the building. It not only reaches out to the city and


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campus to provide views into the structure from downtown Berkeley and

the campus, but also reflexively offers views back to each of these

locations from its transparent café interior. The cantilevered café and the

theater volumes are formally tied together to create a unified image for the

new BAM/PFA.

Did you consider closing Addison Street? Could more be done for the Addison

Street edge of the project?

The project has been guided as fully as possible by the City of Berkeley

Downtown Area Plan as that plan has been in development. To our

knowledge, there has not been an initiative to close Addison Street. Even

if Addison were to close, access for loading to the building, to allow art to

arrive and be removed as exhibits change, would remain critical; the

remaining surface parking would also be accessed by Addison Street.

Any project struggles to address competing demands, and the desires for

Addison Street are balanced against the desires to activate Center Street,

and the operational cost savings in operating a single public entry point.

How will BAM/PFA engage Berkeley City College/teens/families with the move

downtown?

In its current Strategic Planning process, BAM/PFA is looking at a number

of ways to better engage these groups, and expects the new downtown

site will offer tremendous opportunities for collaboration and

engagement. BAM/PFA especially hopes to be more welcoming to teen

audiences, working with Berkeley High School, and reaching out beyond

Berkeley to serve teens through programs and through spaces that are

conducive to their needs. BAM/PFA has piloted a number of programs

serving families to begin to assess strengths, capacities, and potential

community partners. There are no specific plans to work with Berkeley

City College currently, but BAM/PFA looks forward to reaching out to the

BCC and other neighboring cultural and educational institutions.

How programs will happen in the community gallery?

The community gallery will function much like the existing theater

gallery, with shows of works from the BAM/PFA collection and works

related to special exhibitions. It will not require an admission ticket for

viewing.


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Does there need to be a café in the building, given other coffee and food on Center

Street?

An essential aspect of BAM/PFA’s vision for the new building is that it

accommodates multiple sites for student and community gatherings, both

for informal relaxation and conversation as well as programmed events

(music, lectures, etc.). In its current Strategic Planning process, an idea

that as repeatedly been brought up is holding such gatherings around

food, i.e. in the cafe. Indeed, the sharing of food in conjunction with

conversation around art and culture is a growing phenomenon here in the

Bay Area and elsewhere in the country, as in the work of the Bay Area

collective OPENrestaurant, Portlandʹs literary salon ʺBackroom,ʺ etc.

Thus, the cafe is envisioned as a place not only for the regular supply of

ordinary light refreshment, but also as a place where audiences can gather

to discuss films, and hold informal dialogs scheduled through, for

example, the membership meetup.com page.

View from corner of Center and Oxford Streets. Image courtesy Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

BERKELEY ART MUSEUM AND PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE ADVANCES PLANS FOR NEW FACILITY, PRESENTS DESIGN TO PUBLIC

New museum complex, designed by celebrated firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro, to be located in the Downtown Berkeley Arts District.

Berkeley, California, September 14, 2011 — The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) today held a community open house to present the schematic design for its new facility to the public. The project, designed by the renowned New York City-based firm of Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R), will unite a repurposed former UC Berkeley printing plant at 2120 Oxford Street with a new structure. Located in Berkeley’s arts district, the new building will be bounded by Center, Oxford, and Addison Streets, and will count as its neighbors the Berkeley Repertory Theater; Aurora Theater; Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse, devoted to traditional music; and the Bancroft Library’s Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life. The new BAM/PFA is targeted for completion in late 2015. The architect-of-record for the new BAM/PFA building is the nationally recognized, San Francisco-based EHDD. “UC Berkeley is pleased to share with the campus and wider community its plans for a new building for BAM/PFA,” said UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau. “Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s design successfully integrates great architecture with Cal’s mission of public service and contemporary and civic life. The new museum will make BAM/PFA’s tremendous artistic and intellectual resources more publicly accessible to local, national, and international audiences. We congratulate BAM/PFA on the progress that it is making on this exciting project and look

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forward to opening the doors of this superb new facility to our students, faculty, staff, and the public.” BAM/PFA Director Lawrence Rinder added, “BAM/PFA’s dynamic exhibitions and programs will find an ideal home in the new facility designed by DS+R. The firm’s plan respects the grand interior of the existing printing plant, while adding to that building a bold new architectural form filled with sensuous colors, materials, and surfaces. DS+R’S commitment to the integration of cultural institutions into the life of cities is embodied in its embrace of transparency and openness as fundamental design principles. At once beautiful and accessible, the new BAM/PFA will be a destination for art and film lovers from throughout the Bay Area, the nation, and the world.” Project Background BAM/PFA began planning for a new facility in 1997, when an engineering survey determined that its current building, on Bancroft Way, does not meet present-day seismic standards and cannot be upgraded to meet those standards without eliminating the open space required for the museum’s exhibition program. In 2006, the museum engaged the Tokyo-based firm of Toyo Ito & Associates to design a new building on the University’s downtown site. However, in 2009, economic uncertainty stemming from the international recession led the museum to explore design alternatives. The museum subsequently convened an architect selection committee composed of campus faculty and administrators and representatives of the museum and community. The committee identified ten national firms and invited them to submit qualifications for the project. From this group, three were selected to make presentations and participate in interviews. The committee’s recommendation of Diller Scofidio + Renfro was endorsed by the BAM/PFA Board of Trustees.

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View from northwest. Image courtesy Diller Scofidio + Renfro

View of entry from Center Street. Image courtesy Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

Building Design Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s design for the new BAM/PFA combines the 1939 concrete Art Deco-style former printing plant, unoccupied since 2004, with a new metal-clad structure. The new design creates a cohesive and visually arresting space for art, film, education, civic interaction, and administration. Plans call for the industrial building—currently a single-story, skylighted structure with a three-story administrative wing at its east end—to house the museum’s collection and exhibition galleries, a thirty-two-seat screening room, museum store, learning center, K–12 education areas, community gallery, and offices. The new structure, extending between the corner of Oxford and Addison Streets and

the museum’s Center Street facade, includes the 230-seat PFA Theater, Library and Film Study Center, special event space, collection study area, café, and nonpublic areas. The facility is thus defined by two primary and integrated components: the imaginatively repurposed older building and a complementary, forward-thinking multipurpose structure.

The entrance to the new BAM/PFA will be on Center Street, on the south side of the former printing building, one block from the Downtown Berkeley BART station. On the north side of the building, an outdoor plaza will provide a welcoming public space. A large section of the new museum will be accessible to the public without an admission fee, including the lobby, multipurpose gallery, MATRIX gallery (devoted to exhibiting work by emerging artists), community gallery, special-event space, and café. The new BAM/PFA is anticipated to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, given by the U.S. Green Building Council) certification of silver or higher. Former UC Printing Plant Plans for repurposing the former printing plant include preserving many essential aspects of the building

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envelope, including the sawtooth roof and distinctive facade. Work on the interior has been designed with great sensitivity to the original structure, and will include extensive excavation to allow for additional gallery and education spaces, as well as elevators and other required service elements. The building will also be seismically upgraded. Infused with natural light admitted by three large north-facing skylights, the ground-floor galleries provide 10,800 square feet of exhibition space ideally suited for viewing art. Other ground-floor amenities include the grand lobby; MATRIX Gallery, devoted to the work of emerging artists; and a distinctively designed museum store with large windows running along the Center Street frontage. DS+R’s plans call for the lower level to be excavated to obtain 12,500 square feet of additional gallery space, much of which is particularly suitable for light-sensitive work, as well as public study areas, a seminar room, a thirty-two-seat screening room, and spaces specially designed for K–12 visitors. The total number of linear feet of wall space for exhibitions will be approximately thirty percent greater than in the current building. New Structure The new structure will be most visible at the corner of Oxford and Addison Streets, across from the western entrance to the UC Berkeley campus, where it will appear to hover above the excavated lower level. Rinder says that “this minimally sculpted volume—a sensuous cipher—will instill a sense of curiosity about the PFA Theater within.” Below the PFA Theater, a lower level will contain the Film Library and Study Center, open collection storage and study areas, and other education-related spaces. Created to accommodate a range of programming, the theater itself will include a screen as large as fifteen-by-thirty-six feet and will be suited to a variety of media formats, including 35mm, 16mm, and both regular- and super 8mm film, as well as HDTV and SDTV. It will also accommodate lectures and performances with a stage area suitable for a small band, orchestra, or other musical accompaniment to film. The compelling forms and materials of the theater structure will appear to drape over the roof of the printing plant’s administration building and cut through the eastern end of the sawtooth skylights to create a dramatic connection to Center Street, where they resolve into a double-height atrium and a café that cantilevers

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over the museum’s main entrance. This striking intervention will serve as an architectural spine that unites the two buildings into a single composition. Funding The museum has received commitments for $65 million of its $100 million campaign. Diller Scofidio + Renfro Diller Scofidio + Renfro is widely celebrated for cultural projects that play an integral role in the life of the cities in which they are located. The studio is led by three partners—Elizabeth Diller, Ricardo Scofidio, and Charles Renfro—who collaborate with a staff of seventy-five architects, designers, artists, and administrators. Recent projects include ongoing design work for New York City’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, including, to date, the redesign of Alice Tully Hall (opened 2009) and a 95,000-square-foot expansion of The Juilliard School (opened 2009). Also in New York City, the first portion of the High Line, an urban park on a 1.45-mile stretch of elevated railway in New York City’s Chelsea District, designed in collaboration with James Corner Field Operations, opened to the public in 2009; the second portion opened in 2011. In 2006, the firm completed Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art, which combines civic and cultural experiences while providing a contemplative space that reveals shifting perspectives of the waterfront. DS+R’s current projects include The Broad, the new museum of The Broad Art Foundation, in Los Angeles, scheduled to open in 2013; “Bubble,” a seasonal expansion planned for the cylindrical courtyard of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden on Washington, D.C.’s National Mall; and the Museum of Image & Sound, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which is conceived as an extension of the Copacabana Beach promenade designed by Roberto Burle Marx. In 1999, the MacArthur Foundation presented Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio with the “genius” award for their commitment to integrating architecture with issues of contemporary culture. They were recently made fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects and were inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Other prestigious awards and honors received by Diller Scofidio + Renfro include: the National Design Award from the Smithsonian; the Brunner Prize from the American Academy of the Arts and Letters; an Obie for an off-Broadway

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theater production; the AIA President’s Award; the AIA Medal of Honor; and AIA Design Awards for numerous projects. University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive Founded in 1963, the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) is UC Berkeley’s primary visual arts venue and among the largest university art museums in terms of size and audience in the United States. Internationally recognized for its art and film programming, BAM/PFA is a platform for cultural experiences that transform individuals, engage communities, and advance the local, national and global discourse on art and ideas. BAM/PFA’s mission is “to inspire the imagination and ignite critical dialogue through art and film.” BAM/PFA presents approximately fifteen art exhibitions and 380 film programs each year. The museum’s collection of over 16,000 works of art includes important holdings of Neolithic Chinese ceramics, Ming and Ching Dynasty Chinese painting, Old Master works on paper, Italian Baroque painting, early American painting, Abstract Expressionist painting, contemporary photography, and video art. Its film archive of over 14,000 films and videos includes the largest collection of Japanese cinema outside of Japan, Hollywood classics, and silent film, as well hundreds of thousands of articles, reviews, posters, and other ephemera related to the history of film, many of which are digitally scanned and accessible online.

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Press Contacts For information on the BAM/PFA building project: Jeanne Collins or Libby Mark, Jeanne Collins & Associates, LLC, New York City, 646-486-7050 or [email protected] For the University of California, Berkeley: Kathleen Maclay, 510-643-5651 or [email protected]

University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive design proposal, September 2011

Table of Character Defining Features, BAM/PFA September 2011 page 1 of 2

CHARACTER‐DEFINING FEATURES OF 2120 OXFORD, STATUS IN PROPOSED PROJECT

Item Character Defining Feature

(per Significance Diagrams,

2010, Page & Turnbull)

Where Feature

Appears

Status of Feature with implementation of

BAM PFA project (preliminary)

1

Location in downtown

Berkeley, adjacent to UC

campus

n/a Unchanged

2

Overall form and

organization of the building,

divided into a three‐story

administration building

(originally used for editors’

offices) and a two‐story

printing plant shed

(originally housed physical

printing functions)

n/a

Form altered to four parts: three‐story office

wing; two‐story printing plant shed; high

volume theater addition with extension over

printing plant; three‐story back of house

building.

3 Profile of printing plant

shed’s sawtooth roof

Printing plant

shed

Altered in part by extension of theater

addition and new cantilever over Center

Street; maintained in part.

4

Board‐formed concrete

construction, including

facades, floors, walls, and

roofs

Printing plant

shed

The original character of the shed building

will be retained as fully as possible. With the

exception of the glass block windows, the

façade will remain largely unaffected. The

design intent is for the interior surface of the

roof to be retained, however for acoustical

reasons, an acoustical plaster will be added

within the sawtooth bays that will be colored

to match the original concrete. Insulation

and a vapor barrier are required on the

perimeter walls and so new wall finish will

be added on top of the insulation and vapor

barrier to match the character of the original

walls.

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WPA Moderne‐style design

and details, including tiered

pilasters, fluted spandrel

panels, and lighting fixtures

Primarily

apparent on

administration

building

Largely intact and restored

6

Multi‐light, steel sash awning

windows with clear glass

(still operable)

Administration

building

The team is examining whether to retain or

replace multi‐light windows, which may be a

cost concern. If replaced, the design would

not replace the multi‐light style.

Table of Character Defining Features, BAM/PFA September 2011 page 2 of 2

Item Character Defining Feature

(per Significance Diagrams,

2010, Page & Turnbull)

Where Feature

Appears

Status of Feature with implementation of

BAM PFA project (preliminary)

7 Glass block wall sections on

south facade of printing plant

Printing plant

shed

Removed and replaced with windows that

have greater transparency to street;

considering opportunity for some reuse of

glass block in landscape or in back of house

building on Addison.

8

Main entry with cantilevered

canopy, original aluminum

doors, original aluminum

sconces, and bronze plaque

Administration

building

Main entry moved to Center Street; staff

entry at Oxford remains, most features

restored. New entry doors will likely be

needed for accessibility and energy

performance.

9

First floor lobby with

terrazzo floor, curving

terrazzo stair with aluminum

railing, plaster walls, and

original light fixtures

(interior)

Administration

building Retained, restored

10

Second floor stair lobby with

terrazzo floor and aluminum

railing (interior)

Administration

building Retained, restored

11

Second floor library with

built‐in oak cabinets and

shelving (interior)

Administration

building

Library removed for more efficient open

office layout

12

Production shed with two‐

story volume and industrial

character, especially the

sawtooth roof with north‐

facing skylights, steel‐and‐

glass partitions, and redwood

block flooring (interior)

Printing Plant

Shed

Steel and glass interior partitions removed;

volume largely retained below the sawtooth

roof with additional height at locations where

first floor is open to basement; north‐facing

skylights mostly retained and altered in part

by cantilever over Center Street; wood block

flooring to be replaced with new flooring that

has a similar character to the existing.

(The Historic Structure Report for the building at 2120 Oxford Street – the UC Printing Plant building ‐ is

available on the web at http://www.cp.berkeley.edu/CP/PEP/History/planninghistory.html ‐‐ see under “off

campus” buildings, UC Printing Plant)

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY...Sep 27, 2011 · UC Berkeley is working with Diller Scofidio +...

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