Synaptics Incorporated hired our firm and MAI Industries to design, remodel, and expand one building for current and future use.

The new Sysco Food Services facility in Riverside, CA, is near Van Buren Blvd and Interstate 215, at the March Air Base site. The project is based off of Sysco’s prototype distribution facility that has been constructed in multiple locations throughout the United States.

We performed programming and architectural design services for Sysco Corporation for a 138,000 sf food production and cold storage facility. Our team worked closely with Sysco Food services to combine the operations of 2 acclaimed Texas specialty food producers under one roof. The result is a state-of-the-art facility for finish production of seafood, beef, and poultry.

The building features: 

• 50,000 sf of production, cold dock, and related area 
• 70,000 sf of cooler, freezer, and dry storage 
• 18,000 sf of offices and employee amenities 
• A restaurant-grade culinary sampling kitchen and beef dry-age room 
• An attached 3-level refrigeration control and condenser structure 
• A combination of concrete tilt-up construction and steel-frame construction with insulated metal panel walls

The project is a 7,500 sf free standing addition to the existing Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE) named the Student/Teacher Learning Annex; a new facility for the North Coast School of Education, teacher credentialing program as well as other SCOE educational programs. The building includes four 960 sf classroom spaces separated by movable walls that can be combined in a number of configurations, depending on the need. There is also a 1,400 sf Networking Commons, where students and teachers can meet individually or in groups. This collaboration space is equipped with power, WiFi, and HDTV. The lounge includes a kitchen with enough space for having coffee, on-the-go meals, or even accommodate larger catered events. Two hoteling office spaces allow for private meetings or conferencing. Glass partitions with pivot doors separate the classrooms from the Networking Commons allowing the spaces to be opened for larger events and an overhead garage door that opens the space up into the outdoor patio.

The Café at Annenberg is part of the  Annenberg Academic Building on the campus of the University of Southern California (USC). The 895 SF café was envisioned to be more than a food service outlet; it was designed to be a 24/7-student space. Carved out of a corner on the first floor and adjacent to the grand atrium, while clearly a continuation of the interior fabric, this café has its own distinction and has become a campus wide destination. The interior design team played with angles, verticality, and space planning to punctuate the new space.

The dual-function of the café was the primary challenge. In order to maximize the usable space, a compact food-service area was cleverly concealed with an accordion wall that, when closed, becomes an integrated glass writable surface that together with the rearrangible communal table provides students a collaboration center in the heart of the lobby. Features such as these were included in order to invite students to claim the space after hours.

The wood slat design also became a malleable design tool. The vertical slats adhered to the regularity and conformity of the exiting system. Here, they were used throughout the project and then integrated a series of custom infills. Spacing and rhythm varied from tight to loose to conceal otherwise unsightly functions such as a large air intake, electrical room access doors and other base building functions that all happened within this small footprint. 

The café has an exterior wall made of glass allowing for natural light to enter by day and for the space to act as a welcoming beacon by night. The central focal point is a mobile communal table under a row of decorative lighting pendants, both of which are anchored by the vaulted ceiling above. The modern color palette includes polished concrete, vertical white maple slat walls backed with back painted glass, and blue aluminum stools. The solid surface counter top made of cement and coarse glass chips brings a pop of color to the palette.

The new café has become a needed space offering students somewhere to eat, rest, study and collaborate.

Located within a 44-acre meadow with many large oak trees along an arroyo, the site plan optimized an acre and a half of building and 300 parking stalls; while preserving the natural amenities of the rural site. The building's orientation on the site takes advantage of the natural arroyo breezes and sunlight to contribute to the energy efficient design. 

The library is approximately 56,000 SF and includes 4,000 SF of public meeting facilities and the county library system administation. The program for this progressive main public library included space for 230,000 books, a separate children's area, meeting rooms for community activities and administrative facilities. The library also incorporated the most current library technology for information storage and retrieval.

Conceived as the entrance landmark into the Irvine Business Complex and gateway to Irvine from Newport Beach and the Pacific Coast Highway. Brinderson Plaza is a distinctive architectural expression of the energy and vitality of the Orange County business community. The massing of the buildings creates an excellent freeway identity for its corporate tenants.

The 13-story twin towers are arranged to complement each other and provide the entrance lobbies with views into and upon the opposite tower. The two buildings are approimately 598,000 SF of floor space. The Phase II tower is designed to accommodate a restaurant at 10,000 SF. On-site parking for approximately 2,000 cars is provided in a phased structure designed to enhance the local environment through the architectural treatment of the exterior skin and the surrounding landscaping.

The buildings have a structural frame of steel covered with highly polished panels of granite and insulated glass set in a disciplined pattern of refined simplicity. They are positioned to take the best advantage of view potentials and to provide maximum energy efficiency

This approximately 110-acre "Space Park" serves as a research, development and manufacturing center for the Systems Development Division of TRW, Inc. The entire complex houses 10,000 people and provides parking facilities for 8,000 cars, through a phased building program scheduled for continuous expansion over a period of seven years. A campus-like environment is retained throughout the Park by development of interlinking landscaping malls. 

The modernization of Union House Elementary School is a significant project for the District and the community: a dense residential population that is under served and in great need of revitalization. Recognizing this, we worked with District staff, the school’s key constituents and community members to determine several priorities for the campus. The design features improvements to the existing exterior learning spaces as well as the development of under realized campus areas. Inspiration for the project was drawn from the school mascot, the Astronaut, and a space exploration theme contributes both playful and educational elements to the design.

University Gateway is a mixed-use student housing project adjacent to the campus of the University of Southern California. This eight-story concrete structure contains a bookstore, restaurants, retail, and student facilities on the ground floor, with housing units above for 1,600 students.