California College of the Arts, Campus Consolidation

Overview 

A new building project expands the California College of the Arts (CCA) campus in San Francisco, providing indoor-outdoor spaces for making art and learning. Taking advantage of the year-round mild climate, the design features an open plan to promote interdisciplinary interaction. Two mass timber pavilions—the first exposed mass timber structures in California—contain classrooms, art studios and exhibition galleries, and a terraced landscape unites the upper and lower levels 

We provided waterproofing consulting, from design development through construction administration, to Studio Gang Architects for the project, which consolidates programs from both the Oakland and San Francisco campuses on the San Francisco site. The project consisted of not only new construction, but also selective reprogramming and renovation on an existing main building and public improvements to better integrate the existing buildings with one another and the surrounding neighborhood. 

Highlights 

• Our scope included below-grade waterproofing, elevator pit waterproofing, weather barriers and insulation for opaque and other non-glazed enclosures, expansion joint assemblies, roof deck system assemblies for a newly constructed podium as well as waterproofing for landscaped and planted areas and roofing at main roof levels, elevator overruns and mechanical penthouses.
• The waterproofing team collaborated closely with the architect, structural engineer and landscape architect on the design and detailing of waterproofing elements, ensuring that the final design would be functional, cost-effective and aesthetically elegant, as well as cohesive with the rest of the campus and neighborhood.
• Several façade elements and finishes were considered for not only the best design, but also for maintenance cost and effort as well as performance and effectiveness as weather barriers.