Endowed With Daylighting

By Greg Aragon

The California Endowment, the state's largest private not-for-profit health foundation opened in December--four months ahead of schedule.

Rebar and steel prices were soaring in May of 2004 when construction began on the new $70-million California Endowment Center.

But thanks to quick thinking and fast material purchases, the 135,000-sq.-ft. complex in the historic heart of Los Angeles, which is owned by the California Endowment, the state's largest private not-for-profit health foundation, opened in December--four months ahead of schedule.

"We went through a shock wave in early 2004, when rebar and steel prices were starting to run away and we were getting really concerned about pricing, availability and lead-time issues," said Steve Matt, president of Sante Fe Springs-based Matt Construction, the project's general contractor.

"Rebar was starting to exceed $1 a pound, furnished and installed, and structural steel was shooting past $2,000 per ton. So things were rocking really fast. We didn't know where the prices were going to go."

He said that shortly before ground was broken on the Endowment Center, rebar was going for about 75 cents a lb. and steel about $800 to $1000 per ton. The project used 946 tons of structural steel and 1,100 tons of rebar.

Stephen Montoya, Matt's senior project manager, said to ensure price protection, the GC secured early release of the structural steel package in February 2004--10 months ahead of the scheduled December steel erection date and five months before a typical purchase.

"What that allowed us to do was lock in the price for the owner's use and allowed us to start detailing when the first series of structural drawings were released in March," Montoya said. "It also allowed the fabricator to go into production early."

Another thing Montoya learned was that at the same time the Endowment Center project started, work on the multibillion dollar Bay Bridge replacement project in San Francisco was putting a rush on rebar.

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"So we quickly released the rebar and warehoused it, and that allowed me to be in charge of my construction schedule [and] it allowed me to make my pour dates, because we also encountered concrete availability [concerns]," Montoya said.

Matt added, "By expediting the steel, we saved about four months on the schedule."

Located on Alameda Street, the Endowment Center is adjacent to the historic Terminal Annex Building; across the street from Philippe the Original restaurant, widely recognized as the curator of the French dip sandwich; and a block from Olvera Street, the oldest street in Los Angeles.

The contemporary-styled building was designed by Los Angeles-based Rios Clementi Hale Studios. Architect Bob Hale, principal in charge for the firm, said he looked to local architecture for design inspiration.

"It is a glass curtainwall building, with recessed blue windows, which reflect the deep-punched openings in the masonry buildings of the traditional architecture [along] Alameda," Hale said.

The center is owned by The California Endowment, the state's largest private not-for-profit health foundation. It was founded in 1996 to expand access to affordable, quality health care to people throughout the state. Construction of the center was financed through tax-exempt bonds.

In addition to a day care center and café, the 6.5-acre site features 100,000 sq.-ft. of office space on three floors above 35,000 sq. ft. of meeting and learning facilities, including a 300-person function room. The complex includes a 6,000-sq.-ft. courtyard with trees, ponds, fountains, sculptures and seating.

A striking feature of the building is a majestic four-story glass atrium with natural daylighting, which, Hale said, encourages "transparency" and human interaction.

"The atrium is the building's central feature, and it brings people together and lets them see throughout the building," said Hale, whose design used about 51,000 sq. ft. of glass. "Transparency is a key element in the building, both literally [and] metaphorically."