Hazard Mitigation
Seismic Upgrade/Historic Preservation
Judah L. Magnes Museum (Harold Way) - Berkeley, CA
Geotechnical Investigation (2007)
AKA conducted two geotechnical investigations for the Judah L. Magnes Museum when they were seeking to relocate to Downtown Berkeley's Arts District. The most recent of these followed the museum's acquisition of the historic Armstrong College building, which was designed by Walter H. Ratcliff, Jr. and built in 1923. This City-designated landmark includes a dramatic second-story auditorium that extends the entire width of the building. The proposed project includes seismically retrofitting the building and auditorium space and converting the existing basement of the building into high-density museum storage. AKA's services on the project included conducting a two-phase investigation that included reviewing existing in-house data, and drilling borings to investigate soil and groundwater conditions. Based on these data AKA developed recommendations for high-capacity micropiles to resist seismic uplift and consulted on geotechnical issues pertaining to the retrofit design.
Thorsen House - Berkeley, CA
Geotechnical Investigation (2006)
In 2006, AKA conducted a geotechnical investigation for the historic Thorsen House, which was designed by the legendary southern California architectural team of Greene & Greene. The Thorsen House was built in 1909 on a sloping site that is south of Cal's Memorial Stadium and several hundred feet from the active Hayward fault. Architectural features of note include a grand glass-front dining room designed to take advantage of commanding views of San Francisco Bay that was built atop high clinker brick basement foundation walls. The proposed project included adding new seismic moment frame surrounding the dining room window glass area and structurally retrofitting the supporting basement walls while maintaining the architectural integrity of this historic building. AKA's services included drilling borings to investigate subsurface conditions and developing geotechnical recommendations for the retrofit design.
Shattuck Hotel - Berkeley, CA
Geotechncial Consultation (2006)
In 2006, AKA povided geotechnical consultation for planned retrofits to downtown Berkeley's historic Shattuck Hotel. Downtown Berkeley is located on a broad plain that once included open creeks that flowed from the Berkeley Hills westward to San Francisco Bay. These creeks were filled in more than 100 years ago when the downtown area was being developed. Non-engineered fills within former creek beds are generally not suitable for the support of new structures and can also present a localized soil liquefaction hazard. The proposed project included structural upgrades to the existing five-story, block-long building, as well as a new tower built within a central courtyard that would also provide lateral rigidity to the existing hotel. AKA's initial services on the project included reviewing information from our in-house database of geotechnical reports, geologic maps, historic maps, and local historical references. Using this information, AKA engineers were able to evaluate the locations and topography of nearby former creeks and provide the design team with preliminary geotechnical criteria for the evaluation of structural design concepts.
