Winning Design

English Firm's Plans Realized by PCL, Gruen

By Joe Florkowski

It's rare when a public university receives the architectural design of a significant firm such as England's Foster and Partners.

But through a combination of luck and knowing the right people, California State University Channel Islands in Camarillo was able to have the English firm design the campus' John Spoor Broome Library.

But when university staff put the project out to bid in 2004, it came back significantly over budget, spurred in part by escalating construction costs.

Rather than give up on the project, the university asked construction firms to work with architects in a design-build project in summer 2004.

Together, Los Angeles-based Gruen Associates and the Los Angeles office of PCL Construction Services, Inc. won the contract to build the $44 million, 283,000-sq.-ft. library.

Architect of record Gruen Associates wanted to honor the Norman Foster design, but also make the project work, said Kurt Franzen, partner with Gruen Associates.

"We did not want to compromise the essence of the design," Franzen said. "We did not pick away at the design."

So Gruen took a give-and-take approach with designing the library. The firm knew it had to keep some essential elements of the design, such as the two-story library's glass curtain wall. But other items, which could be installed later, such as louvers above the building's entrance, were taken out. And, although the project is a library, it was decided that all the book shelves did not need to be installed. Instead, PCL and Gruen decided to add as many as were needed to open the library.

With such changes, Gruen and PCL could keep the project under budget, Franzen said.

Wil Painter, pre-construction manager for PCL, agreed that keeping the design for the library was crucial.

"Our design team's challenge was to give them this vision and figure out how to do it on budget," Painter said.

The library is being combined with portions of an existing building from the early 20th century, like much of the campus. California State University Channel Islands was built from the remains of the former Camarillo State Hospital.

The glass curtain front of the library is new, but other portions of the library will incorporate one of the state hospital's buildings.

Incorporating a new modern building with the older, existing building has been one of the challenges encountered by PCL, Painter said.
"When you are re-using a 70-year-old building, what's really there is not documented," Painter said. "Everyday is a new adventure."

For example, modifications made to the hospital building may mean a portion of a floor does not match up with what is in the documents, Painter said.

Building a project like this would be a challenge for a small contractor, Painter said.

And this project is still a challenge for a company like PCL, but the company's skill and experience at building other similar sized buildings and projects make it a little easier, Painter said.

Scheduled to be completed by Jan. 31, 2008, the library will actually be finished some time in November 2007, said Deborah Wylie, assistant vice president for operations, planning and construction.

The library will have all the traditional resources and materials of a library, but the glass-front design will give students a lot of day lighting.

"It will feel like an open space," Wylie said.

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