Being in San Francisco, seismic reinforcement was a major element of the renovation. The team focused particularly on shoring up the wall that connects to a reinforced masonry building adjacent to the Strand. Because of the tight site, the construction team installed shoring from within, basically following the footprint of the existing walls and being careful to avoid nearby subway and rail lines. Already, the renovation has won awards from the Washington, D.C.-based American Institute of Architects and others.
Beyond the red main theater and the white lobby, the upper-level “black box” theater is far from black or boxy. Warm wooden panels help with acoustics while a wall of windows provide a view to the city outside, including a dramatic view of City Hall. (The team kept the original window frames but upgraded to insulated glass.) According to Duncan, already one performance has used the flickering city lights as a backdrop.
Unlike a typical project where the client takes over the completed building and the architect is no longer engaged, with the Strand, the designers have a chance to experience the space as patrons and watch it evolve, Duncan says. “So far, ACT has loved it,” he says. “One of the first performances they did was about relationships between people in the tech age, and they had a set with a projection of an audience looking back at the actual audience. The director reinterpreted the space and incorporated it into the art. It was a wonderful surprise.”
Retrofit Team
Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) LLP, San Francisco
• Design Director: Michael Duncan, FAIA
• Managing Partner: Gene Schnair, FAIA
• Senior Designer: Aaron Jensen, AIA
• Project Manager: Gayle Tsern Strang, AIA
• Technical Coordinator: Maurice Hamilton, AIA
• Design Team Members: Eric Cole, Alex Cruz, Patricia Haight, Lisa Hedstrom, Jongsun Lee, Yuji Nishioka, Jessica Said, Joan Young Park and Beatrice Hsu
Structural Engineer: SOM Structural Engineering
• Mark Sarkisian, P.E., SE, LEED AP BD+C; Neville Mathias, P.E., SE, LEED AP; Jeffrey Keileh, P.E., LEED AP; and Joanna Zhang
Graphics: SOM
• Lonny Israel, Brad Thomas and Nicholas Gerstner
Mechanical Engineer: WSP Flack + Kurtz, San Francisco
Theater Consultant: The Shalleck Collaborative Inc., San Francisco
Acoustics: Charles M. Salter Associates Inc., San Francisco
Historic Consultant: Page & Turnbull, San Francisco
Lighting Design: Pritchard/Peck Lighting, San Francisco
General Contractor and Concrete Restoration: Plant Construction Co. L.P., San Francisco
Sustainability Consultant: Rick Unvarsky Consulting Services Inc., San Francisco
Interior Historic Plaster Restoration: Anning-Johnson, Melrose Park, Ill.
Concrete Contractor for Structural Concrete: Bradley Concrete, Milpitas, Calif., (408) 503-7660
Materials
Steel Fabricator and Custom Glass and Steel Canopy: Concord Iron Works
Custom Millwork: Victory Woodworks
Sound-control Doors: IAC Acoustics
Storefront Doors and Windows: Kawneer
Carpet: Prodigal from Mohawk Group
Paint: Sherwin-Williams
Elevator: EcoSpace from KONE
Custom Donor Wall Plaques and Metal and LED Light-blade Sign: Thomas Swan Sign Co.
Light Box, Houseboard: DSA Phototech
Laminate Glass Silk Screen Design: Oldcastle
Fabric-wrapped Panels in Main Theater: Conwed Wall Technology
Panel Fabric: Carnegie Fabrics
Wood-grille Wall Panels in “black box” Theater: 9Wood
Resilient Flooring: Mannington
Concrete-floor Finishing: Bay Area Concretes
Flooring in “black box” Theater: Worthwood from Oregon Lumber Co.
BEFORE PHOTOS: Denys Baker
AFTER PHOTOS: Bruce Damonte