Skip to content

Posts from the ‘Open Practice’ Category

May 18

Downtown Project “Going Black”

By Don Tomasi AIA

TLCD Architecture’s downtown Santa Rosa Luther Burbank Savings Headquarters Branch project is beginning to change colors, going from bright yellow to black. The “black’ is a spray-applied waterproof membrane, the first installation step of an innovative building exterior referred to as a “rear-ventilated rainscreen” system. The black waterproof membrane will keep the building watertight.

In the next few weeks black aluminum channels will be installed over this membrane, then overlaid with stunning wood veneered panels. The panels will be attached to the aluminum from behind, with no visible fasteners. Since the waterproof membrane will keep the building dry, these panels serve a function that is strictly aesthetic. The space between the waterproof membrane is “ventilated” and is open at the top, bottom, and at panel joints. In the case of this project, the freedom to design exterior panels with open joints and without any visible means of attachment allows for a precise, clean aesthetic.

Tim Maloney of Technical Imagery Studios in Santa Rosa is documenting the construction of Luther Burbank Savings Headquarters Branch with time sequence photography.  This “time-lapse” documentation of the construction process can be viewed at:

http://www.technicalimagery.com/proofs/lbs031212/

Jan 4

Napa Health & Human Services Agency Tours Steelcase Showroom

TLCD Architecture was recently selected to provide programming and master planning services for the redevelopment of the Napa County Health and Human Services Agency campus in Napa, California. The master plan will bring together a comprehensive range of services including social, mental health, public health, and alcohol and drug treatment – with the goal of making them more accessible and effective for Napa County residents.

Beginning in September of 2011, TLCD’s project team conducted a series of visioning sessions with key stakeholder groups from the County of Napa. In addition to early sessions to evaluate the overall building program and establish project goals, the team utilized “touring” as a means to evaluate other facilities and see the latest in workplace innovation.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

In December, Steelcase and Northern California dealer, One Workplace hosted the HHSA management team at their San Francisco showroom and conference center for a visioning session that explored new workplace planning strategies. By experiencing a variety of furniture solutions, the group was able to create a vision for a more efficient and effective work environment. It was gratifying to watch the client group as they experienced first-hand the various options for open work areas. In fact one of the senior administrators commented that she saw for the first time how good workplace design encourages collaboration.

Oct 13

Family Justice Center Sonoma County Opens it’s doors!

I was thrilled to be at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Family Justice Center Sonoma County yesterday with my team-mates Mark, Dennis and Leslie. It was quite a turn-out with lots of folks who had a hand in the project at various stages and quite a number of our Sonoma County political representatives.  The high point for me was seeing the end result of a project that started with sketching out the vision of the Site Committee in charette sessions in early 2010.  Those sketches morphed their way into 3D drawings of the space, which we fine-tuned and fitted out with color, material and lighting solutions.  The result is an amazing facility that provides a warm, welcoming and safe environment for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and elder abuse. My favorite room in the project is “The Nest” which lies in the exact center of the building.  The oval shape, dome ceiling and soft lighting represent the vision of the service providers and community based organizations that want victims in our community to know that people care enough to provide a special place for them as they journey through a challenging time in life. To read more about the project check out the recent article in the Press Democrat.

Sep 2

1 Comment

Construction Begins on Luther Burbank Savings Headquarters

Over the past week, Wright Contracting began the demolition of portions of the former Traverso’s building in downtown Santa Rosa.  This busy street corner will be transformed into Luther Burbank Savings‘ new Headquarters Branch.

The building, which has been unoccupied for years, will be clad in an elegant wood veneer rainscreen system.  Silver aluminum fascias, doors, windows and sunscreens will complement the rich reddish-brown wood veneer.  The parking lot will be constructed of colored concrete and enclosed by a perforated aluminum fence.  Natural stone and other landscape materials will contribute to a very sophisticated streetscape.   Local artist Ellen Blakeley will incorporate landscape materials from nearby Luther Burbank Gardens into an art glass installation on the B Street Façade.

The Headquarters Branch will open for business in Spring of 2012.  Throughout the construction process we will be posting regular photo updates, so stay tuned!

Nov 1

2 Comments

State of Ohio Goes to BIM!

Yet another major owner joins the growing group of entities that not only require BIM for their projects, they have a protocol in place.  Of particular interest is the chart for architectural service fees, indicating the difference between BIM & Non-BIM projects.  See link below:

http://www.das.ohio.gov/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=VD8N3VDCjno%3D&tabid=305

Aug 9

Veterans Administration BIM Guide

Another Week, another institution with BIM guidelines.  This time it’s the VA, see link below for a comprehensive page of rules, matrixes, etc. that show a growing sophistication among owners in BIM use.  Notable is their focus is on interoperability, not specific software.

http://www.cfm.va.gov/til/bim/BIMGuide/lifecycle.htm

Jul 22

TLCD’s Luther Burbank Savings Project Hits the Press!

On Wednesday, July 21, Luther Burbank Savings announced to the public via a Press Release, their plans to relocate their Santa Rosa branch office to the former Traverso’s site at 106 B Street. TLCD Architecture has been working behind the scenes for months on the designs for this dynamic downtown remodel which will double the bank’s current space. The Luther Burbank Savings building in tandem with Museum on the Square project is part of what many hope will be a “downtown renaissance”. Check the following links to articles published today in the Press Democrat and North Bay Business Journal regarding this exciting news!

Dec 3

1 Comment

Possible new client for the TLCD Healthcare Studio

Is this the future of healthcare? If it is someone will need to design these mobile clinics.

Challenges: Create a solar-powered, light weight, camel friendly design.

“Kenya’s camels recently started sporting some unusual apparel: eco-friendly refrigerators! Some of the African country’s camels are carrying the solar-powered mini fridges on their backs as part of a test project that uses camels as mobile health clinics. Organizers hope the eco-friendly transport system will provide a cheap, reliable way of getting much-needed medicines and vaccines to rural communities in Kenya and Ethiopia.”-inhabitant

Necessity is truly the mother of invention. This is a great, check it out!

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.