Durant Ave., Berkeley

Transcription

1 Page 1 of 6 Attachment: Durant Ave., Berkeley Proposed Project Analysis for New Construction Prepared for: Kahn Design Associates th Street Berkeley, CA December 2014 Revised 22 September 2015 L E F T C O A S T A R C H I T E C T U R A L H I S T O R Y Caitlin Harvey P.O. Box 70415, Point Richmond, CA (415) caitlin@leftcoastarchitecturalhistory.com

2 INTRODUCTION Page 2 of 6 This Proposed Project Analysis for New Construction was prepared by Caitlin Harvey, architectural historian qualified under the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Architectural History, for project architect Kahn Design Associates. The report serves as an attachment to the report entitled Durant Ave. & 1940 Haste St., Berkeley, Historic Resource Evaluation & Proposed Relocation Analysis. It pertains to the property located at Durant Avenue, Berkeley (APN: ) and provides an examination of the proposed new construction to be undertaken at the property following the relocation of the house currently located on the site (analysis of which is contained in the aforementioned report). EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This analysis concludes that the proposed new construction to be undertaken at Durant Avenue will not have any adverse effect and finds that the proposed design is sensitive to two adjacent Berkeley Landmark properties. PROPOSED ANALYSIS FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION Project Description The proposed project at Durant Avenue will result in the existing house being relocated to a new site (at 1940 Haste Street) and the property being developed with new construction. The new building will be a sixstory, 70 foot tall, 50 unit, multi-family residential building that will occupy the subject lot as well as the currently vacant lot to the north (APN ). It will subsequently have frontage on both Durant Avenue and Bancroft Way and accommodate an approximately 9,735 square foot building footprint. The new building will have zero setback from the lot lines on Durant and Bancroft. It will have rectangular massing with a flat roof and roofline. North (Bancroft Way) Facade: The north facade, facing Bancroft Way, will have a recessed first story that accommodates the vehicular and pedestrian entrances independently. A narrow portion at the right side of the facade will be recessed and extend past the main roofline. The main portion of the second and third stories will overhang the first slightly and have flat wall planes, while the fourth through sixth stories will have setbacks from the street on the left side to incorporate small balconies. The exterior wall cladding will consist of flat, smooth surfaces with decorative panels of horizontal fiber-cement cladding on the left side. Fenestration will consist of banks of floor-to-ceiling windows at each story on the left side of the facade and two individual windows of different sizes on each story on the right side of the facade. An entry canopy, balconies, and the projecting fascia of the flat roofline create repeating horizontal elements at each story level. South (Durant Avenue) Facade: The south facade, facing Durant Avenue, is organized in four bays with the side bays set back and the two unified center bays projecting. The first story incorporates a fully-glazed residential entrance in the left bay and a vehicular entrance in the right bay. The projecting center bays will be clad with horizontal wood siding and have an open screen of horizontal wood members on the right side, partially covering a display window, which will be fully exposed on the left side. A fully-glazed door and sidelight will be located to the left of the display window. The storefront will be topped by a flat canopy that spans the first through third bays. The upper stories of the south facade have a very narrow recessed section at the left side that will extend past the Left Coast Architectural History 2

3 Page 3 of 6 main roofline to create a flat horizontal panel at the left side of the top of the building. In the set-back leftmost bay, the second through sixth stories will each feature a three-part, floor-to-ceiling window. The projecting second bay will feature small two-part windows at each story level and a flat, smooth, scored wall surface. The next bay to the right will be setback slightly, but will still project, for the most part, on the second through fourth stories, where it will be clad with horizontal fiber-cement siding and feature a four or six-part floor-to-ceiling window on each story. Shallow flat awnings will be located above each window. The fifth and sixth stories of this bay will be set back to the same plane as the rightmost bay and will feature fully-glazed pedestrian doors with three-part sidelights, accessing balconies with open railings that extend to the plane of the projecting portions of the facade. The set-back rightmost bay will will be clad with horizontal fiber-cement siding on the second and third stories and have four-part floor-to-ceiling windows without awnings. The fourth story in this bay will not be clad with fiber-cement siding, but will simply feature a six-part floor to ceiling window that will dominate that section of wall, being set back slightly from the plane of both the front and side facades. On the fifth and sixth stories, the facade will be set back at the same plane as the stories below and the same story levels on the bay to the left and will feature nine-part floor-to-ceiling windows. The balconies described earlier will continue across to wrap the right corner of the building. The facade above the second through fourth bays will terminate in a projecting box cornice, with the flat panel described earlier rising above that on the left side. East Facade: The east facade will abut or nearly abut two neighboring buildings. One is one story in the front, with a two story portion in the rear, while the other is three stories high, so the proposed building will rise above their rooflines by the equivalent of about two to four stories. The first story of the east facade has a continuous, flat, unfenestrated plane. The upper portion of the facade is organized into six bays separated by recessed light wells. For the most part, the bays are unfenestrated at the property line, except for the two right-most, which feature a regular pattern of three small windows at each story level. The light wells are infilled with balconies at each story level and are fenestrated with a bank of floor-to-ceiling windows as well as a bank of smaller windows at each story level. The facade is clad with smooth fiber-cement panels and sections of horizontal fibercement cladding are located on each end bay and on the second bay from the right. On the leftmost bay, the fiber-cement cladding is found only up to the third story. Above that, the face of the bay is set back slightly and has a flat, smooth, scored wall surface. Windows and balconies at the fifth and sixth story levels of the south facade, and a projecting box cornice at the top of the building, wrap the left corner of the east facade slightly and small square, single-lite windows are located to the right, two per story level, on the fourth through sixth stories. West Facade: The west facade will nearly abut the neighboring building, which is approximately the same height as the proposed building. The facade will not be readily visible and, therefore, unfenestrated and unadorned. 1 Project Impacts & Compatibility of New Construction As concluded by previous evaluation, the current building at Durant Avenue is not individually eligible for listing in the California Register or for local designation. Therefore, it is not a historic resource and its proposed relocation would not have an adverse effect on the property. However, in the immediate vicinity of the subject property there are two designated City of Berkeley Landmarks, considered to be historic resources under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). They are 2125 Durant Avenue (the G. Paul Bishop Studio, Landmark #104) and 2126 Bancroft Way (the Waste & Clark Apartments, Landmark #182). Both buildings are located immediately adjacent to the east side of the proposed building. Because of the proximity of these Landmarks, care must be taken to ensure that the proposed project does not have an adverse effect on their historic status or continued eligibility for designation as Landmark properties. 1 Kahn Design Associates, Bancroft Apartments drawings (30 September 2014). Left Coast Architectural History 3

4 Page 4 of 6 The two adjacent Landmark properties. Left: Clark & Waste Apartments. Right: G. Paul Bishop Studio This evaluation is based on concepts upheld by the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties (the Secretary's Standards), which provide guidance for appropriate new design where historic resources are concerned. 2 The Secretary's Standards for Rehabilitation (the most commonly applied preservation approach) have been interpreted here for application to the situation at hand; that of proposed new construction adjacent to designated historic resources. The discussion will evaluate the important concepts of compatibility and differentiation; a good balance of which must be achieved in the relationship between the new design and existing historic properties. Use The area surrounding Durant Avenue was historically a primarily residential area, consisting of many single-family and, some time later, mutli-family properties that developed alongside, but not necessarily in connection with, the University of California campus. The neighborhood still contains early-twentieth century residential properties, though commercial and mixed-use development has occurred to such an extent that the area is now characterized by many such properties. The two Landmark properties reflect these development trends, with the earlier 1913 Waste & Clark Apartments representing a multiple-family residential property and the 1939 Bishop Studio representing later commercial development. The proposed project will relocate an early twentieth century multiple-family dwelling, but replace it with a higher density multiple-family building. Thus, it will continue the current and historic use of the property, which is compatible with historic uses in the neighborhood. The use embodied by the proposed project will be compatible with the use represented by the Waste & Clark Apartments, and will not conflict with the commercial use of the Bishop Studio. Visibility & Spatial Relationships The proposed project will be situated on a through-lot, located mid-block, with frontage on both Bancroft Way and Durant Avenue. Both streets are major thoroughfares running through Downtown Berkeley and the Southside neighborhood. The new building will be readily visible from both streets. It will nearly abut the building to the west, but is the same height, so will not be readily visible outside of the profile of its western 2 National Park Service, Archeology & Historic Preservation: Secretary of the Interior's Standards & Guidelines, (accessed 14 August 2014). Left Coast Architectural History 4

5 Page 5 of 6 neighbor. The new building will be more visible from the east, where it rises two to four stories above the adjacent Landmark buildings. Although the Landmark buildings are located in close proximity to the proposed building, their viewshed will not be adversely effected. The Waste & Clark Apartments are oriented toward Bancroft street and the Bishop Studio is oriented toward Durant Street and to the east, where its entry is situated off a side driveway. In the current arrangement, both buildings theoretically have a vantage to the west of the flat, unfenestrated side of the approximately 70-foot tall building on the opposite side of the subject property. It may be noted, however, that the Bishop Studio is designed with a blind west facade, accommodating for an adjacent structure, such as the house currently located next door. New construction of a similar height as the large building to the west will not change the current view drastically and certainly no more than would be expected within a relatively dense urban environment such as downtown Berkeley. Additionally, view of the Landmarks themselves will not be obscured, as they will be as readily visible from the streets that they front on as they are currently. The proposed project will move a 70-foot high wall plane closer to Landmark buildings than currently exists; however, a buffer is maintained on the east side of the new building so that the Landmarks are not hemmed in too closely. The new building will be no closer to the Bishop Studio that the existing house at Durant Avenue is currently, and although the vacant lot facing Bancroft Way will be infilled, the east wall of the proposed building that will run parallel to the three story Waste & Clark Apartments has been conscientiously set back from the property line by three feet in order to provide more than five feet of space between the buildings and respecting the Waste & Clark building's west-facing glazed porches. In a relatively dense urban setting such as downtown Berkeley, the relationship between the new building and the Landmarks will not be out of keeping with the spatial relationships that are common between properties throughout the area. The east facade of the proposed building will be articulated with alternating light wells and projecting bays, providing additional visual and spatial relief from the perspective of the neighboring Landmarks. Ultimately, the proposed project will replace a subordinate building and open lot with a structure of larger dimensions; however it will not dominate the streetscape, views, or spaces around it to the detriment of the nearby Landmarks or overall urban setting. Scale, Massing, & Form The proposed building will be 70 feet high, with street frontage approximately 38 feet wide and will span the width of the block (north to south). It will have a boxy, rectilinear form with a flat roof; its massing contained within a single, uniform block. It will be no larger in scale than a number of other buildings on the block, many of which are larger in footprint, and will have a similar boxy form and uniform massing. The new building will be greater in scale than the adjacent Landmarks, which are both smaller in all dimensions. The Waste & Clark Apartments has a rectilinear form and uniform massing, which coincides with that of the new building, but the Bishop Studio has an L-shaped plan and gable roof form that will contrast with the form of the new building and most of the other buildings on the block. In that sense, it is the exception to the common scale, massing, and form seen in the area and is unusual among the other large-scale, boxy urban buildings. Although the proposed new building will not conform exactly to the scale, massing, and form of the two Landmarks (differing with the Bishop Studio more than the Waste & Clark Apartments), it is appropriate to the setting in which the Landmarks are already situated and, therefore, will not have an adverse effect on their significance. The massing of the proposed building's street-facing facades is further diminished through sensitive articulation of the wall planes and materials. On the Durant Avenue facade, the rightmost bay is set back, adjacent to the Bishop Studio, softening the corner of the building and diminishing the structure's overall mass. The articulation of the massing of the east wall then responds directly to the massing and scale of the Bishop Studio building. Where the Bishop Studio s roof has a one-story high gable form, the proposed building caps the 0 setback line to three stories, while above that a 3-6 setback has been provided. At the rear of the Bishop Studio, where there is a two-story high hip roof, the proposed building maintains the 0 setback and the first light well is generally Left Coast Architectural History 5

6 Page 6 of 6 aligning ed with the rear facade of the Bishop Studio building. Additionally, m aterials like fiber-cement siding are applied on lower stories and step up to clad higher levels to the left, away from the Bishop Studio, creating another instance of visually diminishing the sense of mass and height on the right and allowing it to increase toward the center of the facade. Similarly, the projecting bay of the east facade closest to the Bishop Studio is set back and features different materials above the third story, achieving a similar visual lessening of height and mass in deference to the adjacent Landmark. Similar strategies are used on the Bancroft Way facade. Although the Waste & Clark Apartments are more similar in scale to the new building, the proposed design still uses articulation and varied materials to lessen the visual sense of mass and height. The balconies are pulled to the right side of the facade, away from the Landmark, and fiber-cement cladding is applied in a stepped pattern by story level, drawing the eye down from about the height of the Landmark to the center of the proposed building's facade, thus lessening visual mass at the upper stories nearest the Landmark. Materials, Ornament, & Style The proposed building will be Contemporary in style with clean-line modern aesthetics and materials. It will incorporate varied wall surfaces including smooth, scored sections and panels of horizontal fiber-cement cladding. It will have large but divided expanses of glazing, and generally eschew fine-grain decorative elements. The adjacent Landmarks are of drastically different ages than each other and, therefore, represent different styles and aesthetics entirely. The Waste & Clark Apartments, built in 1913, are Mediterranean Revival in style. They have stucco cladding, a regular pattern of individual windows with divided wood sashes, and decorative elements such as turned balcony balusters, medallions, and shaped eave brackets and rafter tails, as well as clay tile roofing. The Bishop Studio, built in 1939, exhibits the Minimal Traditional style rendered in brick, with steel sash windows (including one of very large dimensions), and little to no ornament. There is no commonality of design between the two Landmarks, and so there is no overarching aesthetic with which the new building should or can comply. As a modern addition in the vicinity of historic Landmarks, it is sensitive in exhibiting its own Contemporary style without being overtly modernistic. In this way it is well differentiated from the Landmarks, but is compatible through small elements of similarity with each Landmark. For instance, its balconies and projecting horizontal elements echo a balcony and projecting eaves on the Waste & Clark Apartments, while its larger windows compliment the large industrial sash front window on the Bishop Studio. Ultimately, the new building provides another facet of architectural aesthetics in an area that is already diverse in ages and styles. Its aesthetics do not conflict with those of the Landmarks and in small ways compliment them, allowing them to continue expressing their historic architectural significance. Physical Impact Construction of the proposed building will not physically impact the adjacent Landmarks. The project site does not directly abut either building, therefore, there is very little likelihood that either will be physically impacted by construction activities or the physical presence of the proposed building. Reversibility Although the likelihood of reversing the proposed project, once constructed, is low, it would require an act of demolition to do so. If the proposed building were to be demolished in the future it would not cause undue harm to the adjacent Landmarks, as it does not physically touch them, nor contribute to any historically significant setting in which they are located. No Landmarks or other eligible historic resources are being removed to accommodate the proposed building, so its theoretical removal would not result in any loss or gain of historic fabric in the surrounding neighborhood. Future removal of the proposed building would result in a large vacant lot, and the current house at Durant Avenue could conceivably be moved back to its original location, as it will be relocated nearby. Although there would be no pertinent reason for doing so, the property could technically be returned to its pre-project state. Left Coast Architectural History 6