Photo by Blake Marvin, HKS Inc.

Designers of the LEED-Platinum project sought to showcase appropriate sustainable measures for historic buildings.

The 1936 Beaux-Arts office building in San Francisco's Civic Center National Historic Landmark District was vacated in 2007 due to seismic deficiencies. During a 350,000-sq-ft seismic retrofit, crews modernized the space into an efficient and comfortable workplace. Designers of the LEED-Platinum project sought to showcase appropriate sustainable measures for historic buildings. For example, daylight sensors reduce energy loads for LED lighting by 48%, and original double-hung, wood-framed windows were restored with low-VOC paint, new hardware and energy-efficient glass.

Key Players

Contractor Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Co.

Owner General Services Administration, Pacific Rim Region

Lead Design HKS Inc.

Structural Engineer Nabih Youssef Associates

MEP Engineer WSP Flack + Kurtz

Consultants Knapp Architects; Cliff Lowe & Associates; Page & Turnbull; Horton Lees Brogden; The Fire Consultants