Using California State Historic Building Code guidance and applications, the team identified methods to fully seismic retrofit the hacienda while keeping the historic fabric of the building. Once team members removed all the exterior finishes, they improved the building’s anchors and connections, as well as added structural steel and shear walls in ways that are almost invisible. Then, they waterproofed the hacienda, replaced the exterior stucco in-kind, and reinstalled the doors and windows. Only the trim was repainted.
The hacienda’s roof was made of pressed tin pop-riveted together to emulate clay tile roofing. Shortly after construction began in 2014, a 6.0 earthquake struck just 1 1/2 miles from the building. “It toppled the two chimneys, which punched holes in the roof,” Schaeffer recalls. “To save the roof, we peeled the roof back, repaired the holes, put down a modern roofing membrane and laid the old rusting tiles back on top. In the places where tiles were missing, we formed new metal tiles and painted them so it’s clear they aren’t original.”
VISIBLE BACKSTORY
Although the hacienda’s iconic front face is perfectly restored to its 1915 condition, Aidlin Darling Design reoriented the main entrance to the back side (where a newer wing had formerly been added) to accommodate better access for the disabled. The driveway now leads around the building’s far side to a parking area. From there, visitors approach a main courtyard adjacent to the kitchen and tasting-area entrance, where new large 5-foot pivot doors create a moveable wall for easy access.
Once inside, the hacienda’s rooms remain mostly untouched. Cracks in the walls and peeling wallpaper recount years past. A beautifully painted poem dating back to the early 1900s adorns the dining room’s molding. “The house is filled with little hidden treasures,” Darling says. “It’s an interesting tapestry that speaks of the building’s inhabitants and shows how things change. We purposefully walked through each room and asked, ‘What story is this room begging to tell?’. If there was a distracting layer, we edited it. If it needed a new layer, we added it in a very clean way that juxtaposed the complexity of what was already there.”
Before the main work began, the Marianis brought various artists to the hacienda in 2008 to create art installations in different rooms. Some of that art is now part of the building fabric. In one upstairs bedroom, a former stovepipe inlet that had become a bees’ nest inspired one of the artists to draw honeycombs on the walls. Adjacent to this artwork, an outline remains where an original sink once stood before the bedroom was reconfigured.
“As meticulous as the project was, there was a kind of freedom when we added in something new,” Darling notes. “In those places, we did it unapologetically and never tried to mask anything; it was simply a new part of the evolution.”
EMOTIONAL INVESTMENT
A newer story in the winery’s saga took place in October 2017, when one of the most destructive fires in Northern California’s history threatened to burn down the hacienda. A 20-foot wall of fire was descending the forested hill and Schaeffer raced to the site. Although cell-phone service was down, his company’s service and maintenance person also arrived to fight the fire. The two men joined the Mariani brothers, their uncle and two firefighters to battle the blaze. “We all had such a deep emotional investment in this property,” Schaeffer asserts. “We cut down and removed the underbrush to prevent the fire from rising into the trees and slow its approach to the hacienda. The firefighters had to move on to protect other properties around 9 p.m. but the rest of us worked until after midnight. We wouldn’t leave until we felt everything was safe.”
The Marianis chose the name “Scribe” as it pairs perfectly with the storytelling concept behind the renovation of the land and hacienda. “Here, new stories are told and old stories become subverted,” Darling remarks. “When you are dealing with a building like this, there’s a spirit involved where certain things rise above the value of standard aesthetics. We learned not to underestimate what those things can mean to others.”
PHOTOS: Adam Rouse
Retrofit Team
ARCHITECT: Aidlin Darling Design, San Francisco
- Principals: David Darling, Joshua Aidlin
- Project Leads: Leonard Ng, Michael Pierry
- AD Project Team: Adam Rouse, Pete Larsen, Mason Hayes, Ben Damron
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT, MASTERPLAN: CMG Landscape Architecture, San Francisco
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT, DESIGN/BUILD: Terremoto Landscape, Los Angeles
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Pemberton Engineering, Davis, Calif.
STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT: Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc., San Francisco
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Cello & Maudru Construction, Napa, Calif.
- Co-owner: Bill Schaeffer
Materials
SEISMIC ANCHORS, EPOXY AND CONNECTIONS: Simpson Strong-Tie
DOOR RESTORATION AND WINDOW WATERPROOFING AND FLASHING: Cello & Maudru Construction
WINDOW RESTORATION: Raven Restoration
NEW DOUBLE-HUNG WINDOWS: P&K Woodworks
EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR PAINT: Benjamin Moore
ROOF MEMBRANE: Gaco Western
ROOF REPAIRS: Grace
FORCED HEATING AND AIR: Bryant
PIVOT DOORS: Northstar Woodworks
CONCRETE COUNTERTOP: Custom by Cello & Maudru Construction
COURTYARD/PORCH LOUNGE REDWOOD AND CEDAR CHAIRS AND BENCHES: Custom by Pinocchio Furniture
HALL CHANDELIER, PENDANTS AND SCONCES: Custom by Michael McEwen
BATHROOM PENDANT: Workstead Orbit Pendant
POEM ROOM LIGHTING PENDANT: Custom by Omega Lighting Design
KITCHEN LIGHTING: Custom by Adam Silverman
KITCHEN AND BATH FLOOR TILE: Salvaged by Exquisite Surfaces
KITCHEN WALL TILE: Renaissance by Country Floors
BATHROOM CONCRETE SINK: Custom by Aidlin Darling Design
BATHROOM VANITY WITH INTEGRAL BOWL: Custom by Carrera Marble
UPSTAIRS TOILET: Carolina II by TOTO