Publications > Architectural Practice
Interactive Resources, Inc. Awarded On-Call Architecture and Engineering Contract by Solano County
Solano County Capital Projects Management Division recently selected Interactive Resources for an on-call contract to provide architectural, engineering and related professional technical support services. Our firm has nearly 50 years of experience with public-agency on-call contracts for federal, state and local agencies throughout California. Our approach to the County of Solano’s on-call architectural and engineering projects will center on collaboration between our in-house design team, consultants, County staff and all project stakeholders. We pride ourselves on achieving high quality, award-winning design and projects that exceed our client’s expectations. Good design is what drives us. We look forward to working with Solano County! Read More
We Are Hiring! Interactive Resources Seeks Structural Engineer & Preservation Architect to Join Our Team
Interactive Resources is seeking new team members for two open positions; senior engineer and preservation architect. Since 1973, our firm has provided exceptional architectural design, structural engineering and planning services, with a focus on green building principles and strategies. “Interactive resources” refers to the collaborative and effective business environment our firm cultivates to support a highly productive and creative team. Read More
Sonoma County, Department of Emergency Management, Community Emergency Resilience Sites
The County of Sonoma requires the construction of three Community Emergency Resilience Sites (CERS) at separate locations to support long-term disaster resilience. The operational support facilities will support dynamic community-level disaster response for the Sonoma Operational Area and serve as energy resilient community coordinating centers. As part of Interactive Resources’ on-call services contract, the County retained us to provide architectural and engineering design services concept design for the three sites for Phase 1. Read More
San Francisco Federal Building – Federal Trade Commission Tenant Improvement
HOPSCOTCH INTERACTIVE LLC
Interactive Resources provided architectural design and engineering services for office and conference space remodels at the U.S. Federal Building in San Francisco. The tenant improvements are for the Federal Trade Commission, who will occupy space on the 3rd and 14th Floors. The project included space planning, interior demolition, design and construction of an open landscape office space and new private offices, new kitchen area, three conference areas, and minor structural work. Read More
Cypress Lawn Memorial Park & Columbarium
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Cypress Lawn Memorial Park was founded in 1892 by Hamden Holmes Noble as the final resting place for many prominent families across San Francisco and California. A member of the San Francisco Mining Exchange, Noble invested in hydroelectricity and launched a power company that ultimately became part of Pacific Gas & Electric. Noble’s civic vision was to establish a “garden-style” cemetery with winding roads and open spaces, where visitors could stroll and meditate. Today, the 150-acre Cypress Lawn grounds include a majestic internationally-certified arboretum. It is the largest non-sectarian cemetery in Colma, California. Read More
7 Stars Healing Center Cannabis Dispensary
HOPSCOTCH INTERACTIVE LLC
This project entails the renovation of an existing office building in Richmond, California that was converted into a beautiful high-end cannabis dispensary. Our goal was to translate our client’s vision to create a warm, modern atmosphere designed with stylish finishes to attract the cannabis consumer and to reflect 7 Stars Holistic Healing Center’s brand, which is a patient-focused alternative healing cooperative serving the East Bay. The dispensary serves a large number of patients for medicinal use and has listened to their requests for a less clinical environment. Using our experience in retail, we responded with a more welcoming environment that speaks to an elevated experience that reflects the care and attention that both medicinal and recreational clients receive from 7 Stars Healing. Read More
AC Transit Customer Service Center Remodel is Now Complete
© 2021. Treve Johnson. All Rights Reserved. 510-841-0905
Interactive Resources has had the opportunity to work with the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) on various projects over the past decade. Recently, Interactive Resources remodeled the AC Transit Customer Service Center located on the main floor of the district’s General Office building at 1600 Franklin Street in Oakland, California. The Customer Service Center serves AC Transit riders with bus pass and clipper transactions for use on the public transportation system. Read More
Congressman DeSaulnier Passes Measure to Expand Richmond’s Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park
Nystrom Elementary School CC-ND
We're excited to share the following announcement from Congressman Mark DeSaulnier, who has successfully passed a measure to add Nystrom Elementary School in Richmond to the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park. Interactive Resources designed the complete modernization and historical rehabilitation of Nystrom's 48,000 sf, two-story classroom and administration building, and the new construction of a 14,000 sf state-of-the-art multipurpose building, which also can serve as a community center for the surrounding neighborhood. Read More
A Parklet for Park Place
Kaleidoscope High Line Parklet Concept
Parklets are a growing trend in urban placemaking—public parking spaces that are converted to areas to congregate, dine and relax. This trend has been accelerated by public health guidelines during the pandemic, which in many cities mandate outdoor or take-out dining only. The City of Richmond is one of many local governments working with its business to increase their service capacity via official parklet programs. Read More
Major Capital Improvements for the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council
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We are wrapping up a major capital improvements program for the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council (NCCRC) headquarters in Oakland, California. It’s great to see to see the finishing touches come together! The NCCRC union represents more than 38,000 carpenters, pile drivers, millwrights, cabinet makers, drywallers and workers in associated trades. Read More
Michelle Obama Elementary School’s Virtual Grand Opening to be held October 29th
Earlier this month, construction was completed on the brand new Michelle Obama Elementary School campus in Richmond, California. The new school is designed by Gould Evans and constructed by Overaa Construction. This Thursday, October 29th at 11am, the school will open its doors, virtually, for a grand opening celebration and tour on Facebook Live. We are proud to have had a role in the transformation of this school, and look forward to the state-of-the-art learning environment it will provide to our community’s families. Read More
A Summer Stroll to Senior Hall
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A recent summer stroll through the University of California Berkeley campus led us to Senior Hall, one of several current and recent projects of ours for UC Berkeley. Not many people know about this log cabin designed by John Galen Howard and completed shortly after the 1906 earthquake, tucked into the Redwoods along Strawberry Creek. Senior Hall was the university's first student hall, and the building has an interesting and secretive history, complete with a hidden chamber. Read More
Congressman DeSaulnier Introduces Legislation to add Nystrom Elementary to the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park
Nystrom Elementary School Modernization & Expansion CC BY ND
We're excited to share the following announcement from Congressman Mark DeSaulnier, who, along with Senators Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein, is introducing legislation to add Nystrom Elementary School in Richmond to the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park. Interactive Resources designed the complete modernization and historical rehabilitation of Nystrom's 48,000 sf, two-story classroom and administration building and for the new construction of a 14,000 sf state-of-the-art multipurpose building, which also can serve as a community center for the surrounding neighborhood. Read More
A Milestone for the Masquers Playhouse
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We are excited for The Masquers Playhouse to have reached a major milestone in its journey to reopening! Today, an 880 pound steel support beam was installed that will contribute to the repairs to the historic theater, allowing it to re-open for performances. Our firm is providing design and historic consultation for these critical repairs. Read More
Cutting-Edge Laboratory Design Project in Richmond, California
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We recently completed a cutting-edge laboratory design project for our client Zygo Corporation, a global leader in advanced optical metrology systems. The facility in Richmond, California produces optics including the len(s) for the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, and the repair to the Hubble telescope. Read More
Essential Architecture: GSA, DGS & USPS
CC by ND – Department of General Services and General Services Administration Proposal Covers
During this challenging time, we are grateful to be hard at work. Many of our clients are designated as essential, and we have two new on-call contracts to announce: with the General Services Administration (GSA) and with the Department of General Services (DGS), both government agencies that we have decades of experience working with, dating back to 1990. And we are in the fourth year of an on-call contract with the United State Postal Service, which we have worked with since the mid-1980s. We are grateful to be able to help these entities maintain the services we need. Read More
Loma Prieta 30 Years Later
Candlestick Park in the forefront of this aerial of San Francisco, California, taken by Carol M. Highsmith
October 17, 1989, I was in my Point Richmond office talking to a client in a high rise in San Francisco. All of a sudden, he yelled, “holy shit,” and I heard crashing in the background (It was his bookcases falling over). The phone went dead. A few seconds later, it hit our building, and we all spilled out into the street.
Later, we climbed to the top of Nicholl Knob where we could see the Marina District of San Francisco burning and the collapsed section of the Bay Bridge. I thought it looked like 1906 all over again.
I was in the office at daylight the next morning when I got the call from the head of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. “How soon can you get your engineers over here?” he asked. Read More
Later, we climbed to the top of Nicholl Knob where we could see the Marina District of San Francisco burning and the collapsed section of the Bay Bridge. I thought it looked like 1906 all over again.
I was in the office at daylight the next morning when I got the call from the head of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. “How soon can you get your engineers over here?” he asked. Read More
UC Berkeley’s Women’s Faculty Club Gets a New Roof of its Own*
Photo credit: Louis H.G., (CC BY-SA 4.0), taken before the roof replacement.
Interactive Resources has a long and successful practice of providing historic preservation services. We have designed and overseen the construction of hundreds of historic rehabilitation projects. One such recent project is for the University of California, Berkeley Women’s Faculty Club, designed by architect John Galen Howard and completed in 1923. According to UC Berkeley, it is the only women’s faculty club in the nation with its own building, and was conceived and formed through the initiative of Lucy Ward Stebbins, the second Dean of Women on the Berkeley campus, who began organizing with women faculty in 1919 (at the time, women were not allowed to join the existing Faculty Club). For nearly a century, it has served as an intellectual meeting place, residence and dining facility for faculty and students. Read More
Case Study: BART Waterproofing Project Saves Tens of Millions of Gallons of Drinking Water Annually
Reverse osmosis filtration takes place during a water reclamation project at Energy Center San Francisco. Photo: Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle
From 2011 to 2016, I was project manager for Interactive Resources on a project for BART to repair extensive leaks into the BART Powell Street Station that had plagued BART for decades and had stymied continuous previous repair attempts.
The solution ultimately involved injecting urethane grout through the ceiling of the station into the soil above to create a new waterproofing system to replace, or augment, the original Bentonite system that had failed.
Our investigation revealed a complicating factor that had played a role in both exacerbating some of the leakage as well as thwarting previous attempts to repair it. It turned out that there was an ultra-high temperature steam pipe running the length of the station above the ceiling in the soil above. Despite extensive insulation and encasement in concrete, the heat was raising the temperature of the surrounding soil and could even be felt radiating through the concrete ceiling. The steam pipe was operated by NRG and supplied steam to a number of buildings bordering Market Street. Read More
The solution ultimately involved injecting urethane grout through the ceiling of the station into the soil above to create a new waterproofing system to replace, or augment, the original Bentonite system that had failed.
Our investigation revealed a complicating factor that had played a role in both exacerbating some of the leakage as well as thwarting previous attempts to repair it. It turned out that there was an ultra-high temperature steam pipe running the length of the station above the ceiling in the soil above. Despite extensive insulation and encasement in concrete, the heat was raising the temperature of the surrounding soil and could even be felt radiating through the concrete ceiling. The steam pipe was operated by NRG and supplied steam to a number of buildings bordering Market Street. Read More
Who was Frank J. Hagel?
© 2018. Treve Johnson
Interactive Resources recently completed a six yearlong project for The Frank Hagel Federal Building in Richmond, California. The main tenant of this six-story structure is the Social Security Administration, and Interactive Resources was retained by the General Services Administration to investigate and report on ongoing water intrusion into the building’s basement from the plaza above. You can read about our feasibility study, final report, schematic design, construction documents and cost estimates here.
We thought it would be interesting to learn about the person whose name is on this building we’ve spent so much time studying. Surprisingly, just googling Frank Hagel doesn’t easily answer this question. Read More
We thought it would be interesting to learn about the person whose name is on this building we’ve spent so much time studying. Surprisingly, just googling Frank Hagel doesn’t easily answer this question. Read More
Envelope Study & Improvements for UC Berkeley’s University Hall
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We recently completed a study for UC Berkeley’s University Hall. This seven-story tower and adjoining two-story annex at the west edge of campus, designed by the well-known west coast firm Welton Becet & Associates and constructed in 1959, originally housed the University of California Office of the President. When UCOP relocated to Oakland, University Hall became home to the campus's Visitor Center and a variety of administrative offices. Read More
In the News: PowerPlant Park in Richmond
Our cannabis industry project PowerPlant Park is poised to bring hundreds of new jobs and millions of dollars in additional tax revenue for the City of Richmond, and the news media is taking notice. Read More
At the Vanguard of the Green Rush in Richmond – PowerPlant Park
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PowerPlant Park is a planned cannabis agricultural community and campus, the first legal project of its kind in the State of California. Investors chose to locate on the Richmond shoreline for its sweeping unobstructed views of San Francisco Bay, and chose our firm for our specialization in architectural and engineering services for the cannabis industry. We are providing architectural, civil and structural engineering, and landscape architectural services for PowerPlant, Inc.’s 19+ acre community, which PowerPlant has modeled itself as a turnkey opportunity for craft growers and canna-investors. Read More
Trends in Cannabis Dispensary Design – Blooming Organics Case Study
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The conventional retail concept of abundance of selection, in contrast with the elegant and orderly boutique experience, is the juxtaposition of design intent in the new field of cannabis retail. Read More
City of San Carlos Youth Center Gets a Makeover
© 2018. Eric Rorer
After an extensive remodel by Interactive Resources, The City of San Carlos' Youth Center has reopened its doors for service to the community. The Youth Center serves more than one hundred San Carlos middle-schoolers, and is home to a wide variety of after-school activities including music programs, sports, gymnastics, summer camp, special events and facility rentals. Read More
The Unique Mix of Cannabis Dispensary Design
Attribution-NoDerivs CC BY ND
I think the exciting thing about how the cannabis industry has been evolving in California is that legalization has provided a new way for all players to communicate with each other and share. I think there’s plenty of room for innovation in the field (pun not intended). Read More
Expansive New High Tech Cannabis Grow Facilities as a Trend
Attribution-NoDerivs CC BY ND
A modern cannabis facility design that combines the best of the new generation of growers and highly experienced architects. Read More
Cannabis Facility Design
CC BY ND
Interactive Resources was an early entrant into and is a leading provider of architectural and engineering services for the cannabis industry. Our firm’s specialization in this sector has deepened with the legalization of recreational marijuana in California, and we are involved in projects for large and small indoor cultivation activities, large-scale greenhouse projects, industrial-scale grow facilities, distribution centers, manufacturing facilities, dispensaries, and processing facilities. Read More
When Arts Education and Architecture Intersect
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It is especially rewarding when a project leads to a lasting collaboration. In 2014, Interactive Resources provided schematic design, planning, design development and entitlements for a historic home project at 656 Quinan Street in Pinole, which involved raising an Italianate-style cottage constructed circa 1900 in order to provide office space below the residence. Today, the ground level is home to The Quinan Street Project (QSP), a nonprofit organization that provides visual and performing arts education to children in Contra Costa County and to public elementary schools in the West Contra Costa Unified School District. Read More
DGS, FMD Bay & Northern Area Architectural Retainer Services
We are happy to announce that State of California, Department of General Services (DGS), Facilities Management Division (FMD) selected Interactive Resources to provide architectural and engineering services for the Bay and Northern California regions. The FMD is comprised of the former Building and Property Management Branch and the Direct Construction Unit. FMD is tasked with ensuring the ongoing maintenance and management of several state-owned buildings. Read More
Window and Door Design and Installation Guide
Nystrom Elementary School CC-ND
This post explores basic information on the design, specifying and installing doors and windows. Techniques for installation of “punched” windows and doors have been evolving continually over the last two decades. For many years, the accepted standard involved four strips of flexible flashing integrated with a nailing fin and the water resistive barrier (WRB) at the window perimeter. This concept was easy to understand and implement because the window fins, the flashings and the WRB were typically all in the same plane. It is amazing, however, that so many designers and builders were still able to get it wrong. Read More
Plaza Deck Design Primer
Plaza Design, Frank Hagel Federal Building CC BY-ND
This primer points out key issues for designing and constructing a successful plaza deck system. A plaza deck is a walking surface, which sometimes can accommodate vehicles, typically waterproofed to protect the underlying structure and/or occupied spaces below. Common surface treatments include concrete, ceramic tile, stone or other paving material, usually with a bi-level drain used to accept both surface run-off and water at the waterproofing membrane level. Structural substrates are commonly wood or concrete. Read More
Westcon Tribune
Avoid litigation and achieve better design and construction, photo credit Joe Gratz. CC-ND
Architects and engineers become defendants in construction defect litigation because of allegations that they breached the standard of care – that is, they practiced in a negligent manner that caused or contributed to a construction defect that resulted in damage to someone. Tom Butt's presentation at the Westcon symposium included remarks about construction litigation in general, the design professional’s standard of care, using standards to avoid litigation and achieve better design and construction, and tips to avoid waterproofing failures. Read More
Limiting Construction Failure Losses – A Challenge for the Insurance Industry
A primer on construction failures. Why do they occur? How is the insurance industry affected? Building failure litigation - who is responsible? Read More
American Institute of Architects California Chapter Proposes Changes to Certificate of Merit Law
American Institute of Architects, CC-ND
The American Institute of Architects California Chapter (AIACC) is pursuing an amendment to either the Senate or Assembly Judiciary Committee Omnibus bills that would modify the process for certificates of merit in litigation involving design professionals. Read More
The Practice of Architecture in California and Architectural Negligence
In litigation, the determination of architectural negligence, or malpractice as it is commonly known, has to be evidenced by testimony of expert witnesses. In assessing whether or not an architect conformed to the "standard of care," an expert witness must consider whether or not the architect used ordinary care and skill, that is, what a reasonably prudent architect would do in the same community and in a given time frame given the same or similar circumstances. Read More
Architect Disciplined for Designing a Flat Deck
Although the debate over substrate slope in protected membrane roofs may continue, a recent disciplinary action by the California board of Architectural Examiners seems to have ended any debate over surface slope. Read More
Architects Required To Use Written Contracts for Architectural Services
Photo by William S. Farrow CC-ND
A summary of the California State Law requiring written contracts for architectural services. Read More
WESTCON Roster Provides List of Bay Area Construction Consultants
WESTCON Construction Consultants Association website provides list of Bay Area construction industry consultants specializing in forensic, diagnostic, and repair services. Read More
ICBO Reports Now Available On-line Free
How to obtain up to date ICBO and other evaluation agency reports instantly on line at no cost. Read More
New Code Opinion Service Offered by ICBO
For the first time, the International Conference of Building Official (ICBO) is offering to the non-building official members of ICBO the opinion service that heretofore has been available only to member building officials of public agencies. Read More