Company:
City of Yorba Linda
Status:
Awarded
Awarded:
Community Improvement Project of the Year
Additional Files
Additional graphic and narrative to enhance project information.
Additional Information

Yorba Linda Public Library & Cultural Arts Center

Project Location:

4802 and 4852 Lakeview Avenue, Yorba Linda, CA 92886

Project Description:

The approximately $50M, two-story public library and single-story cultural arts center on a 4.7 acre infill brownfield site for the City of Yorba Linda, providing an upgraded replacement library for the former facility that was located three blocks away and a new Cultural Arts Center. This new campus is envisioned as the cultural heart of the community, built across the street from the new Town Center retail zone. The Library consists of approximately 46,000 SF, which is almost double the previous facility’s space. The Cultural Arts center consists of approximately 15,000 SF.  The campus design includes indoor and outdoor spaces for gathering, programs and festivals, and is served by onsite parking of over 200 spaces. 
Both buildings open onto an adjoining outdoor paseo, which is the thread that weaves together the site elements. The library building features areas for children, tween, teen, and adults, group study rooms, quiet areas, a Storytime theater, a Friends of the Library bookstore, a dividable community room, DIY spaces, and other collaborative areas. The Cultural Arts Center features a flexible black box theater, an arts studio, an adjoining exterior arts yard, a dance studio, and an adjacent outdoor events lawn. The parking area of the site contains charging spaces for electrical vehicles as well as designated parking for clean air vehicles.
The project transforms a library into an extensive cultural hub for the community where neighbors can gather, learn, and share. The aesthetic concept was to create buildings that blend with the flow of the many slopes of the surrounding foothills, while also creating an outdoor space between the two buildings that enrich the experience, making the whole greater than the sum. Although the construction delivery method was technically Design-Bid-Build, the collaboration and trust generated between the teams in order to overcome the many technical and unforeseen challenges, made the process feel more like a teamwork driven Design-Build project. 

Project Justification:

Design Concept
The project stands out due to the elegant design that resolved the extremely complex and unique program requirements reflective of the City’s desire to showcase best site development and stormwater management practices on a relatively small site with a measured budget for two buildings run by different departments. Notably challenging was the tight space between both buildings and the site perimeter, which required a solution of precise proper sequencing throughout the work. The concept was to create, along with the two buildings, a comfortable and appropriately scaled outdoor space, called The Paseo, that unifies the structures and enriches the overall experience. The tag line was “1+1=3.”
The design of the campus is a result of the program needs. The manipulation of scale, siting, articulation, and transparency between the two buildings is driven by the diverse needs of the spaces inside both buildings. The highly integrated design not only resolves the site’s considerable stormwater management challenge but goes further and celebrates the 30-foot grade change. At a macro level, the relationship between the two buildings across the paseo is orchestrated to provide strong visual connections and offer a glimpse into to happenings of each facility. This physical relationship reflects the partnership of two different City Departments, working collaboratively together to create the community “heart” envisioned at the beginning of the project.
[See Exhibit 2 – Site Experience; Exhibit 3 – Site Plan]

The roofline has multiple slopes and angles to mimic the foothills when seen from a distance. The buildings maintain the angular undulation in section, with the rooflines of both buildings starting as opposing slopes, reflecting the omnipresent backdrop of the foothills to the north. These opposing rooflines, are further accentuated by the long subtle slope of the site, descending in a measured manner more than 25 feet from east to west. To break down the scale of the long roof lines and facades, there are multiple articulations, nicknamed “lanterns” that pop up, out, or both, from the structure. These lanterns create unique opportunities to engage the paseo and create hierarchy for wayfinding both inside and out.

Site Shape
The architectural composition and material choices were refined through input from thousands of community participants, and reflect the strong desire for a timeless, sophisticated character with civic poise. The use of natural materials inside and out, such as stone, wood, and aggregates in natural hues adds warmth to the formality and sophistication of the architecture. The design showcased profuse ambient lighting through the extensive use of glazed curtain wall systems and skylights. Both buildings are designed to visually and physically open up to the paseo, with dramatic stretches of glazing creating the indoor-outdoor experience while the rich metaquartzite stone provides warmth and permanence to the space.
The site provided significant challenges for grading, utilities and constructability. Mass grading of the highly topographic site was required to leverage natural topography for stormwater management while providing fully accessibility across the site. The natural geography of the site guided the vision for the site design. The existing site consisted of over 30-feet in elevation change from east to west and the proposed design maintains its natural slope but is adjusted to be fully accessible around the buildings and accommodate multiple points of entry, egress, and a multitude of outdoor spaces on all sides of both buildings. The grading for the site required lowering of the eastern side while raising most of the northwest portion.  The existing site walls were shored and new site walls installed at lower elevations to maintain the surrounding owners’ property improvements.  With the buildings fronting the street, the parking was located in the back of the site which allows for the buildings and site use to be barrier free and sequestered from the parking.  In order for the buildings to be located as close to the street as possible, retaining walls for both buildings were designed to support the building foundation surcharges and construction equipment during grading. The design respects the natural low point of the site, using it as the primary storm water treatment and retention basin.
[Please see Exhibit 4 – Existing Site Grading; and Exhibit 5 – Proposed Site Grading Plan]

Structural Solution
Derived from the dramatic architectural design, the structural system for the building was selected to optimize the open spaces, respond to the articulation of the exterior finishes and provide for a sustainable, dependable and resilient complex for years to come.  The large interior spaces commonly associated with libraries were accomplished by steel girders and long span deep deck.  The complexity of the various roof levels with sloping conditions that required scissoring of the diaphragms along major drag lines.  The plan articulation of the buildings was skewed at various points of both buildings to allow for a non-linear geometry that is both interesting and exciting within the buildings as well as in the Paseo.  These non-typical conditions were extensively detailed with the assistance of Revit Modeling.  The lateral system for the building was developed based on minimizing the drifts of the building due to the very tall glazing and stone finish systems and efficient resistance without large plan impacts.  The solution of Special Concentric Braced Frames for the project not only allowed for minimal plan and elevation impacts but provides a nicely balanced ductile and sufficiently stiff lateral force resisting system within the budget.
[Please see Exhibit 7 – View of Roofs; Exhibit 8 – Structural Roof Diagram.]

Stormwater Best Practices Criteria
The stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP’s) for the site was a series of bioretention basins with underdrains.  The selection for this BMP was made with collaboration from the City of Yorba Linda as the City wanted to use this project as an education opportunity to inform the community about stormwater quality.  The emphasis was to show that there are non-structural methods for collecting and treating stormwater.  Due to the topography of the site, the BMP’s were located throughout the site and in an almost cascading layout which ultimately discharges all runoff into a large bioretention basin located at the north-west corner of the site.
[Please see Exhibit 6 – Hydrology Map.]
The site is located at the bottom of a drainage sump along Lakeview Avenue that collects off-site from the surrounding 76-acre watershed.  The existing condition collected this run-off through a sidewalk parkway drain and discharged it into a natural detention basin located on the property.  The 10-year storm water flowrate for the in-coming runoff is roughly 100 cubic feet per second (CFS) for a 10-year storm event and 240 CFS for a 100-year event.  With considerable coordination with the City of Yorba Linda, a new off-site catch basin with green street biofiltration planters were constructed to collect the street run-off and discharge it directly into a City storm drain line under Lakeview Avenue since the natural detention basin was removed for the construction of the library.
Significant utility coordination was required along the west side of the site due to the location of the retaining walls and utility mains in the street.

Team Collaboration
This project is worthy of an award not only due to the graceful way it serves its community, but also due to the manner in which the team collaborated to overcome challenging conditions. Although the project was contractually design-bid-build, the working relationship between the project partners often reflected the type of teamwork in the design-build process due to the focused collaboration required and levels of trust generated between the teams involved. Management and coordination of the construction of the buildings required a low-error tolerance strategy. The project was technically complex to build due to the various angles and materials used. The buildings are not rectangular; instead, they incorporate many angles in the foundation as well as the roof that ensure various elevation differentials depending on the perspective from which it is viewed.
 
Value for the Community
The resulting campus is a true hub for the community – with the design decisions enabling not only library and cultural/performing arts services and programs, but also supporting community gathering at a significant range of scales both inside and out, innately integrating local events like farmers markets and fairs, and most importantly, providing diverse spaces for any and all community members to feel welcome.
The new library spaces deliver monumental improvements in scale, quantity, and quality in comparison to the former facility built in the 1960s. The Cultural Arts Center provides a whole new set of educational and recreational opportunities to the community, while also providing a home for a burgeoning performing arts scene in the hyper-flexible, 3,200 square foot Virginia DeLand Theater. The forward-looking public service will lend more than just books, the library will check out educational equipment such as telescopes, sewing machines, and banjos. The facility also has an automated materials handling machine that utilizes artificial intelligence to check in and sorts books.

Special Circumstances:

Relationships Generated
The project team cemented strong relationships not only with the City’s personnel, but also within our own team as a result of the necessity of a trust- and transparency-based collaboration on this project. Multiple rounds of engagement with community members, the City Council, all City Commissions, and the City Staff confirmed the program needs, design strategies, design values, and material choices to ensure the new campus design represents the community at large.
The project team cemented strong relationships not only with the City’s personnel and stakeholders, but also within our own team as a result of the necessity of a trust- and transparency-based collaboration on this project. The gorgeous design by Group 4 Architecture required a focused, integrated approach to complete. Consultants included KPFF, SWA Group, Ruzika, and IMEG, and the general contractor was Bernards. The consultants assisted Group 4 in construction observations and resolution for technical issues that were encountered by the construction team. Weekly meetings were held with the entire project team and the owner to coordinate the project and review any issues that came up. 

Design Obstacles Overcome
Design obstacles overcome included a 35-foot structure height limit from the adjacent grade per the zoning code. Given the design concept and rising roof of the Library, this required tight coordination and creative, non-conventional structural and MEP solutions to keep floor and roof assemblies minimal.
Secondly, the site was extremely tight given the building space needs and site development requirements for planting, off-street parking, access, and stormwater management. To meet the requirements, respect the natural features of the site, and maintain full accessibility throughout, the siting, routing, and grading of all elements was precisely done with little to no tolerance for error during design and construction.
Some of the more detailed complications on the project included a series of skylights on the main spine of the library building that interfered with the diaphragm continuities but also restricted the ability to transport the conditioned air, sprinklers and power from one side of the spine to the other.  Careful selection of the location of the ducting and utilities combined with diaphragm strengthening allowed for a generous and distributed amount of light into the main area of the Library.
The Arts building includes an industrial style Arts Workspace that includes washable floors, retractable power supplies and exposed structural system for future flexibility.  Just outside the workspace is a northern patio that provides an excellently shaded and diffused light for the artists’ work.  The Black Box Theater is a fully functioning theater with lighting grid, controls and lighting on a small mezzanine and flexible seating to effectively bring the audience onto the stage with the performers for an intimate, collective experience.  The Arts building also has a Dance Studio with a large articulating door that opens to the outdoor Amphitheater which engages the performers and audience naturally in the comfortable southern California environment.

Construction Obstacles Overcome
Construction obstacles overcome included an exceedingly heavy rain period at the outset of the project, the COVID-19 pandemic which impacted the material supply chain as well as overall personnel availability, a two month long union strike by the glaziers on the project, and a state wide concrete shortage due to Governor-mandated rolling blackouts in the summer of 2020 which directly impacted the site flatwork paving in the last phase of the project. 
The natural topography challenges of the project included the site being a natural detention basin for a broad area. All neighborhood water flowed here. Stormwater was going to be a major design and construction issue anyway, but the team didn’t expect to receive volume of rain in Southern California that came down. The project started on Jan 7, 2019; it started raining Jan 12, 2019. It rained at historically high levels for the next three months. The site turned into a lake as it was under approximately 5 feet of standing water. This amount of water would have taken months to dry out. Working collaboratively with the owner to mitigate the delay, a plan to truck the water offsite was launched to cut the delay by multiple months. 
The glaziers’ strike lasted six weeks. The strike was between the union and the glazing companies. It did not involve our contractor, Bernards, or the City. To mitigate some of this lost time, the glazier subcontractor hired and supplied non-union workers to continue the work, although at a slower pace since the crew size was cut considerably. We managed to make up for the schedule loses caused by these issues with a focused and aggressive work push, which included working 10-hour days Monday through Thursday for critical patch activities, as well as most Saturdays and several Sundays as required.
The design team and contracting team overcame these challenges by closely collaborating from the rough grading through the final finishing touches. The team is proud of how this collaboration often reflected a design-build process when it was contractually design-bid-build. Through this collaboration within the project partners and the diligent communication with the owner, the majority of the obstacles encountered were handled to the satisfaction of the City and project stakeholders.

Project Attachments:

Bernards exceeded the contract document requirements for subcontractor coordination by developing a robust 3D shop drawing coordination model using BIM.  This ensured that the vast majority of trade conflicts were detected immediately and handled well in advance of the actual build. Our team knew that BIM would be beneficial on this project in particular because the buildings generally are not perpendicular boxes or rectangles, but rather “V” shaped with plenty of pop outs and a jagged roof line. The model allowed the team to coordinate the angles and tight spaces early on, thereby circumventing delays that would have occurred due to the RFI process. Hundreds of clashes were detected and coordinated during the process which likely would have caused multiple months of delay.
[Please see Exhibit 9 – Design-Build Collaboration]

Ensuring the health and safety of workers, inspectors, visitors, and client staff on the Yorba Linda Public Library and Cultural Arts Center Project was priority number one. In addition to implementing its comprehensive Safety Program – which exceeds the State of California’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) guidelines, there were substantial additional safety changes required by the COVID 19 pandemic which were immediately incorporated.  The site team received weekly, and often daily, updates from the home office on Bernards protocols for COVID 19. Through strict implementation of the protocols, we were able to ensure that our project partners did not spread the virus while on site. Ultimately, there were no recordable injuries on the project and no onsite outbreak transmissions.
The Covid 19 pandemic did impact to the project due to the myriad of material procurement delays that it caused.  Items that typically would take 4 to 6 weeks for procurement were extended to as much as 3 to 4 months. Some items that were impacted by extremely long procurement times were switched to other products that were listed in the specifications as acceptable, but these items then had to go through the submittal/approval process all over again. In addition, multiple manufacturers completely shut down operations due to Government mandates outside of California and many subcontractors had crews impacted by positive test results on some of their other sites which lead to shortages of available manpower overall.

Award Citation::

The Yorba Linda Public Library and Cultural Arts Center consists of a new approximately 46,000 SF library and a cultural arts center consisting of approximately 14,000 SF that includes a flexible black box theater, an arts studio, an adjoining exterior arts yard, a dance studio, and an adjacent outdoor events lawn. Both buildings share an adjoining outdoor paseo.

Suggested Award Summary:

The two-story public library and single-story cultural arts center on 4.7 acres of undeveloped property for the City of Yorba Linda provides a replacement library for the existing facility located three blocks away. The library consists of approximately 46,000 SF, which is almost double the previously facility space. The Cultural Arts center consists of a mezzanine of approximately 14,000 SF. The parking area of the site contains charging spaces for electrical vehicles as well as designated parking for clean air vehicles.
Both buildings share an adjoining outdoor paseo.  The library building features areas for children, tween, teen, and adults, group study rooms, quiet areas, a storytime theater, a Friends of the Library bookstore, a dividable community room, DIY spaces, and other collaborative areas. The Cultural Arts Center features a flexible black box theater, an arts studio, an adjoining exterior arts yard, a dance studio, and an adjacent outdoor events lawn.
The project stands out due to its contemporary modern design with plenty of natural ambient lighting through the extensive use of glazed curtain wall systems and skylights. The roof line has multiple slopes and angles to mimic the foothills when seen from a distance. A palette of timeless, natural materials provides an inviting warmth while embellishing the civic stature of the buildings and site.
This project serves its community gracefully, emphasizing the extensive use of woods, steel, and glass to give it a modern, yet welcoming and comforting appearance. The buildings are not rectangular but instead incorporate many angles in the foundation as well as the roof top which ensure many different elevations depending on the angle from which it is viewed. The project is a technical design and construction accomplishment due to the many different angles and materials used.

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