San Bernardino County commissioned a new medical office building at the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center Campus in Colton, California. The 3-story, 66,000 sf structure is a steel brace-framed with a slab-on-grade foundation. Exterior walls and core construction are tilt-up, reinforced concrete. The interior is built-out to meet commercial medical office building standards. The building exterior design is intended to be compatible with existing Hospital and Mental Health buildings, while introducing volumetric and tonal complexity. This project received LEED Silver Certification.

The Consolidated Rental Car Facility (ConRAC) will allow 20+ car rental brands, which are currently located in an scattered array of LAX proximate locations, to be housed in a single 6.3 million square foot mega-building complex that is connected to every LAX passenger terminal via the new Automated People Mover (APM). The passengers will arrive at an open air landscaped plaza where they will have a direct sightline to the car rental companies retail areas located in two buildings a short distance from the APM station. 80% of the passengers who have reserved a car may proceed directly to the parking stall that is identified by the car rental smart phone app via the three escalator and elevator cores for direct access to each company’s rental car fleets. ConRAC is a highly efficient machine to take a car that is returned by a customer and make it ready for a new customer in 8 minutes. There are 186 fuel pumps and 40 car washes in the Ready Return Building to make this happen.

The Resources Building Renovation for the California Department of General Services consists of the comprehensive renovation of the original Resources Building at 1416 9th Street in Sacramento. The existing building is 17 stories and roughly 657,000 GSF. Utilizing a progressive design-build delivery method, the Turner + AC Martin + HGA Team’s approach addresses the State’s Goals and Critical Success Factors as fundamental touch points to ensure a project that brings the highest value and differentiates itself yet honors the significance of the original International Style building.

The renovation includes the demolition of the existing building’s non-structural elements and a thorough abatement of materials. The fundamental massing of the building will remain unchanged. The intervention introduces a new energy-efficient skin, with an orchestrated pattern of glass spandrel panels that recall the metaphor of the original façade.

The decorative open graphic on the East and West façade is reinterpreted with vertical fins in an alternating light and dark pattern. The podium elevations are finished with a gradient pattern of glazed brick to enliven the pedestrian experience and support the City’s initiatives for the O Street corridor. The design of the office workplace is modern and flexible to facilitate collaboration and productivity while adaptable to change in the post-pandemic world. Sustainability is a priority, and the project is on track to achieve LEED Platinum certification and targets Carbon Neutrality and Zero Net Energy.

The new headquarters for the California Natural Resources Agency is a 22-story, 880,000 SF high-rise office tower serving as the workplace for several departments within the Agency, including the Department of Water Resources, Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Department of Parks and Recreation. The project includes 10,000 SF of ground level retail/flexible space, a multi-vendor food court, and a verdant pedestrian plaza.

The sustainable features and strategies utilized for this LEED Platinum certified building include reclaimed water systems, mechanical chilled sails, and building materials such as rammed earth, reclaimed wood from the Paradise fire, and local/renewable materials. Designed to meet Net Zero Energy standards, the building’s Energy Use Intensity (EUI) is no more than 28.2 kBtu/sf/year.

The 148,000 square foot Health and Human Services Center, the first Zero Net Energy building in Placer County, was designed to create a transformational experiential environment, enhancing the existing campus, and providing a positive impact on all that visit and work at the facility. AC Martin responded to the client’s desire to present a building to the community that is welcoming and responsive to the budget, but not overdone or extravagant. We took this desire to heart and developed an appropriately scaled building with a clearly marked entry, that reinforces the vision of the client. 

In addition to designing a project that is both functional and affordable, we looked for meaning to reinforce the client’s vision. The entry to the building is important functionally and symbolically. A bridge is an appropriate metaphor for the project, particularly at the front door as it represents the idea that the clientele will be crossing the bridge to better things. In addition, a landscape bioswale along the public entry showcases sustainable practices while intersecting the bridge at the front door. A gentle rise of the pathway reinforces the idea of crossing at threshold, causing one to pause briefly to observe the natural elements on either side.

The overall organization of the building is informed by sensitivity to public interface, clarity of circulation, maximizing daylight, promoting cross divisional collaboration and future flexibility. The open Lobby space provides a clear view of the reception desk with visible signage directing one to the assortment of waiting areas. Designed to be intuitive and non-institutional in its expression, it is welcoming, warm, safe, and reinforces inclusivity.