Planning

We provided planning, entitlements, design, bridging documentation, and construction support services for the development of a 2.38 acre site at the airport perimeter in the City of Costa Mesa. The project consisted of a single story, 25,230 sf building that encompassed administrative offices, storage facilities and all the vehicle/heavy equipment maintenance shops for the Airport Maintenance Group. The site also contains ancillary facilities including a single-bay vehicle wash facility, fueling station, and parking for employee and airport vehicles.

In 2009 NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) commissioned AC Martin to update its Master Plan which sets forth the guidance for development of the JPL Oak Grove facility over a projected ten year planning horizon.  This plan will serve JPL in both establishing the overall direction for needed physical changes at the Oak Grove facility but also the Table Mountain Observatory facility and the Deep Space Network of satellite antennas located around the world. The master plan will identify specific core projects conceptualized to meet Lab needs, improve Lab functionality and campus aesthetics.  The current master plan developed in 2003, because of several recent events occurring at the policy and funding levels of NASA now calls for an update so that it conforms to current NASA guidance.  Specifically, the updated master plan currently in preparation (Update Plan 2011) will address the following policies and needs of NASA:

• Redirection of the 2006 NASA Strategic Plan elements associated with the Constellation Program to emphasize solar system robotic missions, earth systems and climate change;
• Compliance with NASA guidelines for the preparation of Center Master Plans (CMPs) as contained in NASA Procedural Requirements document NPR 8810.1 and incorporation of JPL Environmental Affairs Department documents, and significant public communication;
• Compliance with NASA guidelines for insuring a focus on facility efficiency and sustainability as contained in NPR 8820.2F;
• NASA guidance for facilities that specify goals for removal and upgrading of NASA real property assets for all NASA Centers;
• NASA guidance for facilities that adopt national goals for achieving facility sustainability in the areas of energy and water use and for achieving reductions in green house gas (GHG) emissions;
• NASA directions for Center Master Plans to comprehensively address master planning for all facilities under management by JPL. This requires that the JPL Master plans simultaneously consider the needs and assets of the Oak Grove, Deep Space Network (DSN) and Table Mountain Facility (TMF) activities under management by JPL/Caltech/NASA.

One Metro West is a mixed-use community that brings multifamily residences, creative office space, retail, a park, and an event plaza to Costa Mesa. Located on 15 acres in the northwest corner of the city, adjacent to the 405 Freeway, this development will become the new northern gateway to Costa Mesa.

1,057 residential units distributed across three buildings with distinctive architecture feature an “Equinox”-style 24/7 fitness center, yoga and aerobic studio and wellness room with oxygen stations and cryotherapy, multiple rooftop amenity terraces and open spaces for recreating and lounging. Three resort-style, saltwater swimming pools, including a rooftop junior Olympic-sized pool, all with spas and cabana areas are positioned throughout the master plan. The project also features a 1.7-acre park and event plaza designed to hold intimate musical performances, outdoor theatrical productions, community-sponsored meetings and celebrations. A 25,000 SF “jewel box” creative office with a roof garden and event space within the park is complimented by 6,000 SF of specialty retail.

The architectural character of One Metro West is designed to be timeless. As the project endures, the natural weathering, evolving landscape growth and resident adaptations will rusticate and naturally reveal the true nature of the building – improving the project and community over time. Key components of this elegant but contextual-based design are its clean lines, natural materials and complementary color palettes. The interplay between indoor and outdoor living is witnessed in its variety of social gathering places and roof top terraces. The architecture, location and programming of the spaces invites both the employee or resident to explore the surrounding area, while still creating an intimate place to work or call home.

The amenity-rich development of Elements consists of 1,600 apartment homes and 17,000 SF of retail space on a 23-acre in-fill site. The architectural concept was to take “elements’ found in nature and develop a series of design vocabularies related to building massing, use of color, materials and textures. Inspired by the elements: wood, metal, earth, water and fire, the resulting architectural styles complement each other for design continuity yet contrast nicely to help break down the scale of the overall community. Featured in the current images is Phase I of a five-phase development.

Chapman University wished to address both expansion and infill development while firmly reinforcing a signature sense of place.  The Master Plan balanced the need for new academic facilities with new and re-landscaped outdoor gathering spaces which have come to further define the Chapman ‘brand.’  In light of the University’s acquisition of land several blocks from the main campus and the need to provide additional student housing, the Master Plan emphasized ways to handle pedestrian and vehicle connections that expand perceived campus boundaries. 

The Master Plan for Chapman’s urban campus identified future new building sites and made recommendations for future land acquisition based on logical growth patterns. The Master Plan set the stage for much of the architectural work that has established Chapman University as a premier small university and continues to guide campus development. 

The treatment of Chapman’s historic buildings was a significant component of the Master Plan. The adaptation of existing historic buildings for the Law School and housing facilities for Film students allowed the University to preserve its heritage while reusing existing facilities. In addition, AC Martin has designed a new classroom building in the style of Chapman’s historic quad to infill an important parcel there. Recently AC Martin has been assisting Chapman develop parcels on the main campus and new acquisitions to the north and west for student housing. 

 

The CSU Sacramento 2015 Master Plan is a guide to the development of Sac State’s 300-acre campus and its facilities in order to serve 25,000 students over the next twenty years in a rapidly evolving higher education environment.  The plan capitalizes on Sac State’s distinctive campus landscape and significantly amplifies the University’s sustainability profile.  

The centerpiece of the Master Plan is the new Hornet Greenway, the product of an interdisciplinary planning effort involving the campus infrastructure team, the master plan architects and the landscape architects.  The Greenway creates a completely new central pedestrian spine and bio-swale system that will allow the campus to improve its stormwater management system with comprehensive, sustainable techniques to detain, clean and divert stormwater before returning it to the adjacent American River.   

The Greenway, branded for the campus mascot, creates a new central landscape feature on a campus that features 3,000 mature trees and connects the expanded Arboretum to the campus core.  It also serves to renew and integrate the academic core by linking new and existing academic buildings through this unique pedestrian circulation system.  The Greenway will also provide a system of teaching and learning stations that makes the campus into a living laboratory for the natural science disciplines.  

Mount Saint Mary’s University is an independent, Catholic, liberal arts university with two historic campuses in Los Angeles, California.  The University’s 2015 Campus Plan is a strategy to develop its physical assets and resources to accommodate its established Undergraduate student body on the 56-acre Chalon campus in Brentwood, and its growing Graduate and accelerated Undergraduate programs, including its Weekend College and On-Line programs, on the 15-acre Doheny campus in downtown Los Angeles.  

The 2015 Campus Plan addresses each campus individually, identifying sites for new facilities and functions while taking into account the many functions, activities and needs that are shared between the two campuses.  Above all, the Plan is a coherent scheme that supports and promotes Mount Saint Mary’s “One University, Two Campuses” approach to higher education. 

A major new facility on each campus formed the structure of the Plan.  The Wellness Pavilion on the Chalon campus is conceived as a two-level facility built into the existing hillside.  It is designed to provide space for psychological and health services, fitness facilities and athletic facilities for both organized and informal recreational activities.  Also on the Chalon campus, a multi-purpose theater/performance space is planned adjacent to existing music and art facilities.  On the Doheny campus, a new building on a recently-acquired 1.7-acre parcel directly adjoining the existing campus, allowing space for academic, administrative and student-life uses, including a new dining facility and below-grade parking.

AC Martin was selected by PCL construction to renovate their 25,800-SF Glendale office to create a “Workplace of the Future”, that meets the varied demographics of today’s workforce. By 2025, 75% of the workforce will be made up of Millennials according to the Brookings Institute. This generational shift is changing the office landscape in new and exciting ways, trading in hierarchy for community. PCL was at an exciting crossroads to rethink conventions, redefine workstyles and, ultimately, create its own “Workplace of the Future”.

Flexible, adaptable, malleable work environments are key markers of a desirable next-generation workplace. By offering a diverse array of workspaces, we aimed to help PCL retain current employees and attract new talent by respecting and accommodating different ways of working. This was done by establishing private offices, huddle spaces, and a general open environment with physical separations from the communal areas centrally located in the plan. The departments are split between the executive and project management/estimating wings based on frequency of required interactions. The wings are tied together with common interstitial spaces, furthering the concept of the office as an ideation studio – an inviting place for people to be comfortable and hang out. This allows the exchange necessary for collaboration and encourages serendipitous dialogue. Lounges, communal tables, built-in benches, and booths ultimately define the ‘heart and soul’ of this workplace. A communicating staircase was added between the two floors, allowing the estimating and accounting teams easier access to the main floor and bolstering the overall team environment.

The major change brought about by the renovation was the breakdown of barriers between departments that interact frequently. Attracting the “next gen” workforce requires answering their need for a flexible, adaptable, malleable work environment. By offering a diverse array of workspaces—open-office seating, collaborative areas, quiet huddle regions--we met the challenges that PCL will face in retaining current employees and attracting new talent. A space for everyone does not mean ‘one size fits all’, but rather a move towards individualization and a customizable work environment that offers choices—quiet and loud, small and large, private and interactive, individual and group, formal and informal.

AC Martin completed a programming and feasibility study for a 192,000-SF, 600-bed student housing building for sophomores and juniors that will include staff and graduate student apartments, lounge space, recreation space, a multi-purpose room, and housing support functions.

The Mesa Court Expansion Project is a new student housing building at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Driven by a need for more affordable and inclusive student housing, the project provides 400 residence hall beds for undergraduate students in quadruple-occupancy rooms, shared bathrooms, and common areas distributed throughout the building, including study areas, living rooms, kitchens, and laundry facilities.

The project vision and goals created:

• Affordable housing
• Inclusive, universal design
• Comfortable, student-centric environments
• New center for Mesa Court housing community
• Gateway presence statement along Campus Drive.

The design and criteria creates residential blocks of 40 students and one RA, forming a small community for students to connect and identify with. Two blocks occur on each floor, creating a neighborhood community, which shares living, dining, and laundry facilities. In this way, the building planning supports the development of a variety of scales of community for students.

The project’s impact is extended through outdoor amenities, such as outdoor living rooms, study space, and recreation areas. The site design also incorporates bike parking, walking/jogging paths, bike paths, and a pedestrian “promenade” connecting the site with the existing student housing community.

UCI first engaged AC Martin on the project with a site feasibility study. Through the study, our team assessed two site options for the project, including development of pros and cons and site selection criteria and recommendation. Upon site selection, AC Martin confirmed the site’s viability for buildable area, site utilities, and overall opportunities and constraints.

AC Martin developed a Detailed Project Program and Design Criteria for the project, for design-build delivery procurement. The Detailed Project Program and Design criteria scope and deliverables included: site analysis, visioning and goal setting, space program development, adjacency development, scenario development options, conceptual design, and design criteria.

Out of the programming process, AC Martin and UCI identified a need to renovate the nearby Mesa Court Community Center. UCI is currently engaging ACM in the Community Center renovation feasibility study.