by ArchitectureWeek

The California Preservation Foundation presented its 19th Annual Preservation Design Awards in February 2002 to 21 projects that have rescued diverse historic resources.

The firm of Milford Wayne Donaldson, FAIA was one winner. The firm created San Diego's first comprehensive master plan for the County Administration Center. A designated historic landmark, the Spanish Revival/ Beaux Arts building had been built in the 1930s for the Work Project Administration (WPA). Over the years, the CAC underwent several expansions but without benefit of long-range planning. The Concept Master Plan evaluates existing systems, analyzes future needs, guides future use and renovation, improves accessibility, provides a reference document for planning and design, and preserves the most public spaces.

An award also went to TLCD Architecture, for restoring and modernizing the historic brick gothic buildings at Santa Rosa High School designed in the 1920s by architect W. H. Weeks. The building's interiors had been stripped of their original detail during previous, insensitive "renovations." Using historic photographs and sampling of paint layers, TLCD restored or reconstructed the original finishes, colors, and wainscot. With sensitivity to the historic fabric, the architects added air conditioning and an information technology infrastructure and reorganized the school for collaborative teaching.

In the preservation and stabilization category, an award for the rehabilitation of the 1854 Chinese Temple of Kwan Tai, in Mendocino went to consultants Carey & Co., Inc., along with a large group of engineers, builders, researchers, and students. The historic landmark is the last intact, continuously functioning Chinese Joss House Ö small temple serving a Chinatown community Ö on California's north coast. Students at Mendocino High School conducted research into the Temple's cultural importance. This motivated community fundraising for saving the temple which, by the 1990s, was in fragile condition. Stabilization work involved raising the building, leveling it on steel support beams, digging new footings, and bringing the structure up to code.

The California Preservation Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of California's historic built environment. They sponsor an annual conference and promote preservation through publications, advocacy, technical assistance, and this annual design awards program.

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The 1854 Chinese Temple of Kwan Tai, in Mendocino, was structurally stabilized and painted in its original, vivid, red and green colors. Photo: Hisashi B. Sugaya/ Carey & Co. Inc. The County Administration Center, hailed by historians as the "best of all government buildings in San Diego," became a source of civic pride during the Great Depression. Photo: David Marshall, Architect Milford Wayne Donaldson, FAIA Restored coffered ceilings, carefully detailed woodwork, and new display cases now showcase the heritage of Santa Rosa's oldest high school. Photo: Lenny Siegel Photographic   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.