Colma, Calif., is known as the “City of Souls”: 1½ million people are buried there. In May 2013, a major piece of that landscape, the 124-year-old Noble Chapel, suffered a three-alarm fire that almost completely destroyed its 1937 crematorium.
A Building Team led by ARG Conservation Services not only reconstructed the crematorium but also upgraded electrical, mechanical, heating, and fire sprinkler systems and replaced the roof.
Large stained glass windows were removed and sent to Los Angeles for restoration. This left the building vulnerable to weather conditions during construction, so the team shrink-wrapped the structure to guard against inclement weather. As portions of the building were finished and deemed weather-tight, the shrink wrap was removed and work proceeded on that section.
The project was completed five weeks ahead of schedule.
PROJECT SUMMARY
Silver Award Winner | Colma, Calif.
Building Team: ARG Conservation Services (submitting firm, architect, GC); Cypress Lawn Memorial Park (owner/developer); SOHA Engineers (SE); LIST Engineers (ME), O’Mahony & Myer (EE), Gladding McBean (terra cotta consultant).
Details: 3,505 sf. Construction cost: $5.2 million. Construction time: February 2015 to October 2015. Delivery method: Design-build.
Related Stories
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 27, 2018
Bedford Square: Revivifying urbanity
A suburban mixed-use redevelopment restores ‘the lost art of living closely.'
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 26, 2018
Yarn works: Neverending yarn
111-year-old mill becomes a mixed-income multifamily community.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 20, 2018
Wiseburn High School: New kind of P3
A California school district and a charter school system join forces to open a skills-based high school.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 19, 2018
Kehoe Iron Works: Industrial strength makeover
A project team turns a toxic site into a civic treasure.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 19, 2018
Weiser Hall, University of Michigan: Campus upgrade
A Mid-century building becomes home to a new International Institute.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 16, 2018
Mass MoCA Building 6: The Robert W. Wilson Building
A textile mill becomes an arts center that energizes a New England town and its region.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 15, 2018
Charles L. Tutt Library, Colorado College: Net-zero in the Rockies
Library expansion reinforces Colorado College’s commitment to carbon neutrality.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 14, 2018
National Arts Centre: O, Canada
Three new wings and a flashy AV display add luster to the nation’s cultural gem.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 13, 2018
20 Times Square: Conquering Times Square
The 20 Times Square mixed-used project at the corner of 47th and Seventh Avenue is indicative of the great lengths Building Teams will go in order to maximize real estate and media opportunities in Times Square.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 12, 2018
Crosstown Concourse: An 'organic' urban village
Memphians band together to rebuild a gigantic Sears distribution facility into a multifaceted community crossroads.