The newly-renovated, LEED Gold-rated Richmond (CA) Civic Center won two California Construction magazine Best of 2009 awards for Northern California. The awards were for Overall Top Project and Government/Public project.
The project's landscape architects, WRT also played a key role in the collaborative process with the city. The firm's initial site investigations and analysis brought an understanding of the site's functional and symbolic role. WRT's early work on the project included developing a master plan for the entire civic center district, establishing an identity for the district as it redevelops.
WRT's site design for the civic center combines a contemporary approach with a respect for the buildings' historic modernist aesthetic. The improvement program for the plaza and surrounding landscape completes a unified vision for the civic center. The result is an engaging landscape that supports a variety of outdoor functions. Meeting and lunch spaces are nestled into shady allées that line the plaza. Concerts and other events can be held on the stage in front of the auditorium. The entire plaza is conceived as a large-scale event space for city-wide functions such as festivals and speeches.
WRT's design contributed to the achievement of numerous LEED credits that brought the project to its Gold rating, including water-efficient landscaping, urban heat-island mitigation, bicycle and low-emission vehicle parking, and light pollution reduction. Rainwater gardens and bioswales are incorporated to manage stormwater runoff from paved surfaces and roofs.
