Historic renovation projects always present challenges to builders and architects as they must incorporate new building materials while maintaining an authentic appearance. Capturing this aesthetic, while using the most advanced products and methods, is a balancing act, and one that DPR has successfully mastered on historical renovation projects, such as the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. Now, a team in Redwood City, CA, is again busy on one such project.

For the San Mateo County Historic Museum project, DPR was charged with restoring a building with a complex history dating back to the 1860s. After the 1906 earthquake destroyed the majority of the original structure—only its stained-glass dome survived—it was rebuilt as a courthouse, reaching completion in 1910. Nearly 30 years later, to generate work amidst the national depression, a new structure, the Fiscal Building, was constructed adjacent to the courthouse, demolishing the courthouse’s original façade and entrance in the process. After being placed on the National Register of Historic Places in the late 1970s, the former courthouse became a museum in the 1980s. In 2000, the decision was made to demolish the Fiscal Building and reconstruct the original six-column entrance to the historic courthouse. The nine-month-long project is expected to wrap up in February 2006.

To envision the demolition of the Fiscal Building and reconstruction of the historic museum, DPR employed four-dimensional (4D) technology during the preconstruction phase to digitally recreate the building process and the facility. A month of demolition followed, and then the team got started rebuilding the façade of the historical structure. Relying on photographs and working with the local Historical Resource Advisory Committee, the architects and DPR modeled the entrance, including the stately columns and Roman Renaissance-style portico lost in the 1930s renovation.

“The columns were a particularly challenging part of this job,” said DPR’s Eddie Parenti. “We relied heavily on photos dating back to before the 1930 renovation. We also field molded the building’s pilaster capitals to create a model for the columns’ capitals. The pilasters are rectangular, while the columns are round, so it was a little tricky rounding out the capital.”

Rather than build the new columns from sandstone, the material that would likely have been used 100 years ago, DPR turned to a lightweight alternative—fiberglass reinforced panels. Strengthened by a structural steel core, the fiberglass columns are molded to specifications derived from shop drawings and models and then sprayed with a sand mixture for texture. Weighing just 1/16th of stone, the strain on the building is decreased, and precluding the need for structural upgrades. Additional ornamental work being done on the roof, such as the installation of a copper cornice and a number of eagle statues, were also modeled after old photos.

Another complicated element of the restoration project was planning around the continuing operations of the San Mateo County Historic Museum. Last summer, as the project was well underway, the museum was open to visitors six days a week and served as a popular wedding site on the weekends, resulting in coordination challenges for the DPR team, as well as the continual need for a clean and orderly a site. Throughout it all, DPR kept the lines of communication open and worked to minimize the effects of the construction on the museum and its visitors.