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 16, 2016
Reconstruction Awards: Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University
The five-story brick-and-beam structure is an adaptive reuse of the Canada Hair Cloth Building, where coat linings and parachute silks were once made.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 16, 2016
Reconstruction Awards: Marwen
Marwen currently offers 100 studio courses to 850 underserved students from 295 schools and 53 zip codes.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 16, 2016
Reconstruction Awards: The Cigar Factory
The Cigar Factory was originally a cotton mill but became the home of the American Cigar Company in 1912.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 16, 2016
Reconstruction Awards: St. Patrick's Cathedral
The cathedral, dedicated in 1879, sorely needed work.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 15, 2016
Reconstruction Awards: Lovejoy Wharf
After demolishing the rotten wood wharf, Suffolk Construction (GC) built a new 30,000-sf landscaped quay, now known as Lovejoy Wharf.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 15, 2016
Reconstruction Awards: KETV-7 Burlington Station
The 1898 Greek Revival train terminal, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, had been abandoned for nearly four decades.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 14, 2016
Reconstruction Awards: The Gallery at the Three Arts Club
On the exterior of the building, masonry and terra cotta were revitalized, and ugly fire escapes on the south façade were removed.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 14, 2016
Big-box store rescaled to serve as a preventive-care clinic
The hospital was attracted to the big box’s footprint: one level with wide spans between structural columns, which would facilitate a floor plan with open, flexible workspaces and modules that could incorporate labs, X-ray, ultrasound, pharmacy, and rehab therapy functions.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 14, 2016
Fire-charred synagogue rises to renewed glory
The blaze left the 110-year-old synagogue a charred shell, its structural integrity severely compromised.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 11, 2016
Adaptive reuse juices up an abandoned power plant
The power plant was on the National Register of Historic Places and is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark.
