Presidio Takes Home 2 Prestigious Preservation Design Awards

Presidio of San Francisco (October 4, 2011) — An innovative approach to historic preservation of the Presidio’s historic Officers’ Club has earned the Presidio Trust a Preservation Design award from the California Preservation Foundation (CPF). The award in the Culture Resources Studies and Reports category was one of two the Trust received at the CPF’s 28th annual awards ceremony Saturday night. The rehabilitation of the Presidio Landmark was also honored in the Preservation category. These projects were among 27 winners in nine categories statewide.

It is the third consecutive year the Trust has earned a Preservation Design Award.

“It is a great honor to receive these awards from the California Preservation Foundation,” said Craig Middleton, the Trust’s executive director. “We take great pride in preserving the historic fabric and character of the Presidio and it is extremely gratifying when those efforts are recognized by an organization such as the CPF.”

The award for its Non-Destructive Evaluation Report honors the Trust’s ground-breaking use of technology in preservation of the adobe walls inside the historic Officers’ Club. Using thermal imaging technology, similar to that used by fire departments to find hot spots or people in trapped in burning buildings, the Trust was able to map moisture levels and cavities inside the walls without having to drill into them or tear them down. Guided by these “maps” crews are now able to repair the walls using new adobe bricks.

“This is true preservation and conservation at its best and it’s exciting that the California Preservation Foundation has recognized that with their award,” says Christina Wallace a Project Manager for Planning and Historical Rehabilitation with the Trust.

The oldest and most loved building in the Presidio, and the oldest in San Francisco, the Officers’ Club is undergoing a complete rehabilitation that includes the repair and restoration of all significant historic spaces, the construction of new exhibit space and event venues, and seismic upgrades and improvements to enhance accessibility for people with disabilities. Work is scheduled to be completed late next year and the project is expected to receive a LEED gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

While the award is a first for the rehabilitation of the Officers’ Club, it is the sixth award for the Presidio Landmark project since its completion in July, 2010 and comes on the heels of a Gold Level Building Design+Construction, Reconstruction Award. The Presidio Landmark awards recognize the Trust, and its partner, Forest City Development, for the rehabilitation of the former Public Health Service Hospital and its transformation into 154 residential apartments.

The Trust and its partners in historic rehabilitation have now won a total of seven Preservation Design Awards since 2000. Past winners include:

• 2010 Cultural Resource Study Award for the Cultural Landscape of the Presidio’s Fort Scott
• 2009 Rehabilitation (Large Category) Award for the rehabilitation of a former army airplane hangar for La Petite Baleen, a children’s swim school
• 2009 Craftsman/Preservation Technology Award for the restoration of the Presidio’s historic Arguello Gate
• 2006 Rehabilitation Award for the rehabilitation of an historic warehouse for Senspa, a stunning day spa
• 2000 Rehabilitation Award for the rehabilitation of the Presidio Fire Station

Founded in 1977, the California Preservation Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of California’s diverse cultural and architectural heritage. With over 1,500 members it is the leading voice for historic preservation in the state. Since 1984 the foundation’s highly competitive Preservation Design Awards program has honored exceptional historic preservation projects for excellence in design, construction, planning and technology.

The Presidio Trust was established by the United States Congress in 1996 to administer the Presidio of San Francisco, an urban national park site located at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. The Presidio is one of the largest and most ambitious historic preservation projects underway in the United States. The Presidio’s historic buildings represent the nation’s most comprehensive collection of military architecture, dating from the Civil War through the Cold War, including homes and barracks that reflect how the military social hierarchy and domestic life evolved in the Presidio. Since 1994, approximately 75 percent of the park’s historic structures have been rehabilitated for new uses. The Trust has won numerous awards for planning and historic preservation.