WINE SPECTATOR LEARNING CENTER, SONOMA STATE UNIVERSITY, ROHNERT PARK, CALIF.
RETROFIT TEAM
ARCHITECT OF RECORD AND INTERIOR DESIGNER: TLCD Architecture
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: MKM Associates
MECHANICAL ENGINEER: TEP Engineering
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Truebeck Construction
ACOUSTICAL/AV CONSULTANT: Salter
KITCHEN CONSULTANT: Ballinger Restaurant Design
MATERIALS
The following is a sampling of materials used in the project:
TERRA-COTTA WALL PANELS: Cladding Corp.
HVAC: Trane
TPO ROOF SYSTEM: Firestone Building Products
GLAZING: Vitro Architectural Glass
SUSPENDED WOOD GRILLE CEILINGS: Madrid Inc.
CARPET: Interface CEILINGS: Armstrong Ceiling & Wall Solutions
COUNTERTOPS: Corian
THE RETROFIT
Sonoma State University’s Wine Business Institute (WBI) is a globally renowned institution, preparing students for successful careers in the wine industry. The Wine Spectator Learning Center is an education and industry hub designed around advanced-technology classrooms, student commons and gardens, and a collaborative space for faculty and business leaders that supports the executive, professional, and degree programs of WBI, including activities, events and research projects. Multi-point video conferencing and video production with broadcast capabilities enable distance learning with institutions around the world.
The program, however, had little exposure or presence on the Rohnert Park campus with offices and classrooms tucked away in various buildings. When the Campus Commons (bookstore and cafeteria) was vacated after the construction of a new student center, the 1960s building afforded an opportunity to showcase WBI to the campus, partners in the wine industry and the general public. With intense involvement on the part of WBI faculty and staff, the building transitioned from a dark, internally focused structure to a transparent and welcoming presence on the Campus Green.
WBI hosts a variety of social events at the building, but the generous outdoor terraces were previously cut off from the interior. The original building was inwardly focused with heavy concrete and brick walls, and the entry points were recessed and dark. The design team’s solution included removing large sections of the existing concrete exterior walls while maintaining the structural and seismic performance of the building. Shotcrete was applied to the remaining shear walls, and additional steel bracing allowed full-height concrete and brick walls to be removed at the building perimeter. The main entry was improved by moving the perimeter glazing out one full bay, expanding the lobby and creating a more transparent, visible and inviting entrance with a stronger connection to the terrace.
Providing transparency to the activity within the building and a visual and sensory connection to the campus were crucial objectives of the project. The design achieved this objective by providing new fenestration in strategic locations: at the two main building entrances, which invite visitors into the public zones, and at the building corners, which provide active workspaces. A strong indoor-outdoor connection to the campus extends from the upgraded exterior terraces, which offer views of the lake and gardens to the north and the Campus Green to the south. The iconic pyramidal skylights were retained and glow with light at night, enhancing visibility of the program’s many afterhours classes and functions.
PHOTO: DAVID WAKELY PHOTOGRAPHY